HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


LlEUTrCOLM:?.  McTAGGART  D.S.O. 


c>-^ 


LUCY  N  YOnjNG 


TUFTS    UNIVERSITY    LIBRARIES 


3  9090  014  549   121 


HINTS  ON 
HORSEMANSHIP 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  fAedkkm 

Cummings  School  of  ■^'■- ■-^nnary  Medicine  at 

Tufts  L     .     :^ty 

200  Wet,  :?.oro  Road 

North  Grafton.  MA  01536 


LiEUT.-CoLoxEL  M.  F.  McTaggart's  b.g.  "Surprise." 

International  Horse  Show,  New  York,  1913. 


HINTS  ON 

HORSEMANSHIP 


BY  LIEUT.-COL. 

M.  F.  McTAGGART,  D.S.O. 

(5th  Lancers) 


WITH  FRONTISPIECE 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.  LIPPINGOTT  COMPANY 

LONDON:    WILLIAM  HEINEMANN 


,i»>ve*»A;» 


!<=! 


Printed  in  England 


TO    MY    OLD    "  CHIEF 

GENERAL  THE  HON.  SIR  JULIAN  H.  G.  BYNG 

G.C.B.,    K.C.M.G.,    M.V.O. 

THIS   BOOK    IS    RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED 


PREFACE 

Just  before  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
I  started,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  editor 
of  the  Field,  publishing  a  series  of  articles  on 
horsemanship.  This  series  was  rudely  interrupted 
by  the  outbreak  of  war,  and  my  military  duties 
precluded  my  taking  any  further  steps  for  a  con- 
siderable period.  But  after  fighting  in  France 
continuously  for  nearly  four  years,  it  was  my 
fate,  through  the  fortune  of  war,  to  be  taken 
prisoner.  Taking  advantage  of  the  enforced  leisure 
at  my  disposal,  I  have  passed  many  an  otherwise 
weary  hour  in  compiling  this  little  volume.  If 
it  gives  any  of  my  readers  as  much  pleasure  to 
read  as  it  has  given  me  to  write,  I  shall  be  fully 
rewarded;  but  it  is  more  than  I  can  hope  that 
they  will  finish  the  last  page  with  as  much  regret 
as  I  felt  on  the  conclusion  of  my  task. 

Now  that  peace  has  been  declared  and  we  can, 
once  more,  resume  the  pleasures  of  the  hunting 
field,  of  racing,  polo,  and  the  show-ring,  I  am  at 
last  able  to  place  my  ]\ISS.  into  the  hands  of  the 
publishers. 

The  Author. 


vu 


PROLOGUE 

The  books  which  have  been  written  on  horses 
and  horse  management  are  legion,  and  yet,  without 
the  customary  apology,  I  lay  yet  another  before 
the  public.  I  do  so  because  I  have  long  realized 
that  much  of  the  most  interesting  part  of  horse- 
manship, of  training,  and  of  ownership  is  as  yet  not 
fully  appreciated  by  a  large  majority  of  the  riding 
public.  In  doing  so  I  have  made  no  attempt  to 
write  exhaustively.  Did  I  do  so,  much  would  be 
a  repetition  or  plagiarism  of  other  works,  and  that 
is  not  my  intention.  I  have,  instead,  endeavoured 
to  explain  the  more  abstruse  points  in  the  theory 
of  horsemanship,  and  to  disclose  continental  views 
which,  as  far  as  I  know,  are  not  to  be  found  else- 
where, and  which  I  hope  may  prove  of  interest 
and  be  novel  to  many.  Horse -management  is  only 
lightly  touched  upon.  That  is  a  subject  in  which 
few  countries  can  approach  and  none  can  equal 
us,  and  there  are  many  very  valuable  works 
already  written  on  the  subject.  Also  I  do  not 
deal  with  the  early  handling,  bitting,  and  breaking 
in  of  yearlings.  If  I  did,  I  would  again  trespass 
needlessly.  The  training  of  racehorses  I  leave  to 
those  more  qualified,  and  my  sole  endeavour  is  to 
help  those  people  who  would  like  to  ride  better 
and  straighter  to  hoimds,  who  are  interested  in 
training  horses  to  jump,  and  who  wish  to  under- 


X  PROLOGUE 

stand  the  art  of  sitting  a  horse,  and  putting  a 
horse  at  a  fence,  whether  it  be  in  the  show-ring 
or  the  hunting  field,  or  in  steeplechasing.  Haute 
ecole  is  a  subject  I  am  not  proficient  enough  to 
tackle.  It  is  a  branch  of  training  that  is  hardly 
kno\Mi  at  all  in  this  country.  It  is  very  fascin- 
ating, but  lacks  the  practical  value  so  dear  to  the 
heart  of  an  Englishman.  Its  home  is  in  Paris, 
where  this  form  of  horsemanship  has  been  brought 
to  its  highest  pitch  through  the  energies  of  a  few 
highly  skilled  instructors  who  are  themselves  past 
masters  in  the  art.  The  Italians  are,  perhaps, 
more  practical.  At  their  great  training  school 
they  go  on  the  principle  that  a  highly  trained 
man  and  horse  can  go  anywhere  and  do  any- 
thing. A  precept  with  which  I  heartily  concur, 
and  which  it  will  be  my  endeavour  to  exemplify 
in  the  following  pages. 

The  sketches,  which  illustrate  the  various 
chapters,  were  drawn  within  the  gloomy  walls  of 
a  prisoners'  camp  in  Germany.  I  make  claim  to 
but  little  artistic  skill,  and  I  found  the  task  none 
the  easier  for  the  absence  of  the  usual  facilities 
for  portraying  the  action  of  a  horse  and  rider  in 
motion.  My  intention  was  to  have  them  com- 
pletely redrawn,  but  Major  Gonne,  R.A.,  who 
kindly  consented  to  prepare  them  for  the  printer, 
considered  that  they  should  be  left  as  they  were 
originally  drawn.  This  being  the  case,  I  must  ask 
my  readers  to  consider  them  as  diagrams  only,  and 
not  as  accurate  representations  of  either  action  or 
conformation. 


CONTENTS 


I.  INTRODUCTION 

n.  THE   LENGTH   OF   THE    STIRRUP 

III.  THE   LENGTH   OF   THE   REINS 

rV.  THE    POSITION    OF   THE   BODY 

V.  THE   GRIP 

VI.  THE    APPROACH 

Vn.  TRAINING 

Vni.  BRIDLING 

IX.  "hands"    and    OTHER   MATTERS 

X.  COLONIAL    RIDING       . 


PAGE 
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156 


A  TOAST 

Here's  to  that  bundle  of  sentient  nerves,  with 
the  heart  of  a  woman  and  the  eye  of  a  gazelle, 
the  courage  of  a  gladiator,  the  docility  of  a  slave, 
and  the  proud  obedience  of  the  soldier. 

Gentlemen— THE   HORSE 


J  INTRODUCTION 

For  well  over  a  hundred  years  the  inhabitants 
of  Great  Britain  have  had  greater  opportunities 
for  riding  and  horsemanship  generally  than  the 
continental  nations,  and  were  for  many  years 
justly  regarded  as  the  leaders  in  all  branches  of 
equine  sport.  We  still  have  the  best  horses  the 
world  can  produce,  and  there  are  far  greater 
facilities  for  hunting  and  cross-country  riding  in 
the  British  Isles  than  anywhere  else,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  this,  steeplechasing  and  point-to-point 
racing  are  more  the  rule  here  than  in  any  other 
country.  On  account  of  these  advantages  it  has 
been  customary  for  many  of  us  to  underrate 
the  skill  in  riding  and  horsemanship,  which 
undoubtedly  exists  abroad.  It  is  certainly  true 
that  a  larger  percentage  of  the  population  of  Great 
Britain  can  ride  a  horse  than  on  the  Continent, 
but  a  smaller  percentage  of  riding  men  are  so 
fully  equipped  and  qualified  in  the  essentials 
which  make  for  successful  horsemanship.  Many 
people  believe  that  continental  horsemanship  con- 
sists of  haute  ecole,  and  in  teaching  horses  to 
perform  circus  tricks.  This  belief  has  a  foundation 
in  the  fact  that  as  many  continental  horse -lovers 
have   but  few    opportunities    of    practising   their 


!J  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

arts  in  the  hunting  field,  or  across  country,  some 
of  them  do  amuse  themselves  in  this  manner. 
It  is  an  extremely  interesting  pastime,  but  it 
in  no  way  alters  the  hard  fact  that  they  do 
study  horsemanship  in  a  scientific  manner,  and 
we  do  not.  Our  first  eye-opener  was  when  the 
International  Horse  Show  was  started  in  1907. 
Foreigners  came  over  and  won  nearly  every  event 
with  great  ease,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  the 
commencement  of  the  war.  The  commentaries 
by  all  onlookers  were  couched  m  almost  identical 
terms.  They  generously  admitted  the  graceful 
seats  of  the  continental  horsemen,  but  it  was 
imanimously  written  off  as  "trick"  jumping, 
mider  unnatural  conditions.  "  Let  them  come 
and  take  our  fellows  on  over  a  natural  country, 
and  then  we  will  show^  them  how  to  ride,"  was  a 
remark  that  must  have  been  made  hundreds  of 
times,  w^hen  our  riders  were  smashing  gates,  break- 
ing the  ^^^ngs  and  making  the  most  lamentable 
displays,  while  the  hitherto  despised  foreigner  was 
gi\dng  most  finished  exhibitions  of  true  horseman- 
ship. That  these  opinions  should  have  been  so 
prevalent  was  a  clear  demonstration  that  the 
nation  did  not  fully  understand  the  principles  of 
riding,  and  it  is  the  object  of  this  small  volume 
to  note  some  of  the  differences  existing  between 
what  may  be  called  the  British  and  Continental 
principles  of  modern  riding. 

The  cradle  of  opinion  is  the  hunting  field.  Men 
who  have  hunted  all  their  lives  suppose,  not  un- 
naturally, that  they  must  know  a  good  deal  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  3 

art  of  riding,  and  their  knowledge  is  passed  on  to 
succeeding  generations,  unquestioned  and  without 
reserve.  This  method  of  obtaining  knowledge 
may  be  described  as  the  acme  of  empiricism. 
But  theory  and  practice  must  go  hand  in  hand. 
Without  study  we  merely  emphasize  and  permanate 
past  errors,  and  no  progress  is  possible  so  long  as 
we  are  satisfied  wdth  ourselves.  As  it  is,  the  young 
horseman  is  merely  taught  to  ride  to  hounds  in 
such  a  manner  that  he  can  negotiate  simple 
obstacles,  without  danger  to  himself,  his  horse, 
or  other  people,  but  further  than  that  it  does 
not  go.  How  many  hunting  men  are  willing 
to  be  photographed  when  jumping?  How  many 
understand  the  art  of  "putting"  a  horse  at  a 
fence.  They  will  admit  that  it  is  only  sometimes 
they  can  get  a  horse  to  jump  a  fence  "  off  his 
hocks,"  and  that  whether  he  does  or  not  is  largely 
a  matter  of  luck.  As  to  being  photographed  in 
the  act  of  jumping,  they  universally  agree  that  it 
would  only  be  on  rare  occasions  they  would  be 
able  to  survive  the  ordeal.  Now  this  is  obviously 
too  low  a  standard.  A  trained  man  on  a  trained 
horse  does  not  fear,  but  desires  the  camera. 

Speaking  personally,  I  have  been  able  to  check 
many  unnoticed  faults  by  this  means,  and  I  know 
no  better  way  of  learning  mistakes,  and  of  studying 
attitude.  In  reference  to  the  camera,  most  of 
us  have  photographs  of  our  friends  taken  on 
horseback.  They  have  placed  themselves  in  the 
saddle  in  what  they  consider  the  most  approved 
position,  and  are  generally  endeavouring  to  "  look 


4  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

their  best,"  and  yet,  to  the  trained  eye,  the  position 
they  have  adopted  is  full  of  fundamental  errors. 
Below  is  the  copy  of  a  photograph  of  a  very  well- 
kno^vn  rider.  He  was  one  of  our  foremost  horsemen, 
and  the  photograph  was  taken  some  years  ago.    He 


Sketch  No.  1 


is  evidently  *'  posed"  for  the  camera,  and  is  un- 
doubtedly attempting  to  show  himself  off  to  the 
best  advantage.  And  yet  the  position  he  has 
adopted  in  the  saddle  is  full  of  bad  faults.  Had 
he  realized  the  errors  of  posture  that  he  was  com- 
mitting, instead  of  allowing  it  to  be  published,  he 
surely  would  have  had  the  photograph  suppressed. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

But  the  trouble  is  that  he  didn't  know,  and  I  most 
deferentially  submit  that  the   great  mass   of  the 
riding  public  also  do  not  quite  realize  the  faults 
they  commit.     I  do  not  purpose  at  this  moment 
to    criticize    his    position.     I   prefer   to   take    my 
readers  along  with   me    step   by  step,   and  then 
those  who  have  done  me  the  honour  of  reading  me 
through  a  few  chapters,  will  perhaps  be  kind  enough 
then  to  refer  to  this  copy  of  the  photograph.    If  I 
have   been   able   to   make   my   points   sufficiently 
clear,  the  ineptitude  of  such  a  position  in  the  saddle 
will  be  so  demonstrated  as  to  make  further  com- 
ment  unnecessary.     I   have    selected   this   photo- 
graph  because    it   is   very   typical.     If   you   look 
round  the  walls  of  your  rooms  or  in  your  albums 
you  will  find  many  similarly  posed,  a  fact  which 
loudly  proclaims  the  truth,  which  is  that  hunting 
experience  is  not  sufficient  to  teach  the  arts  of 
horsemanship  by  itself.     It  must  be  accompanied 
by  theoretical  study,  and  as  much  practical  exercise 
as  is  possible,  either  in  riding  schools  or  maneges. 
Not  only  do  the  riders  require  teaching,  but  their 
horses  also,  and  it  is  by  hard  work  and  constant 
endeavour  alone   that   our   horsemanship   can   be 
improved,  so  that  we  can  ride  better  to  hounds 
than  we  did  before.     I  am  preaching  no  idealistic 
theories,  beyond  the  reach  of  most,  or  above  the 
ambitions   of  the   ordinary    rider.      My   object  is 
to   help   those    who  wish  to  improve    themselves 
in  practical  cross-country  work.     To  make  them 
ride  better  and  straighter  to  hounds,  with  more 
assurance  and  greater  safety.     How  great  a  per- 


6  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

centage  of  an  ordinary  hunting  field  are  held  up  by 
a  simple  post  and  rails  because  it  doesn't  look  like 
breaking  !  How  few  would  dare  to  jump  a  gate, 
under  the  most  favourable  circumstances  !  Even 
our  gallant  "  thrusters "  whose  exploits  inspire 
us  with  unbounded  admiration,  would  be  able  to 
perform  still  greater  feats  with  less  danger  to  them- 
selves and  their  horses,  did  they  study  the  art 
and  theory  of  horsemanship  more.  I  would  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that,  with  a  thorough  schooling  of 
both  horse  and  rider,  it  is  not  courage  so  much 
as  experience  and  practice  that  is  necessary  for 
cross-country  riding.  That  ominous-looking  post 
and  rails  which  fills  all  our  hearts  with  terror  when 
riding  an  untrained  horse,  becomes  most  attractive 
and  inviting  when  one  has  complete  confidence 
both  in  oneself  and  one's  horse. 

It  is  frequently  remarked  that  show-ring  jumpers 
make  a  very  bad  exhibition  when  in  the  hunting 
field.  This  fact  is  due,  not  to  the  reason  that  they 
are  show-ring  horses,  but  because  they  have  no 
experience  of  natural  cross-country  work.  It  is 
a  matter  that  can  be  very  easily  rectified  if  one  so 
desires  it,  and  when  rectified  there  is  no  doubt 
at  all  as  to  which  is  the  safest  mount,  provided 
always  that  they  have  been  trained  to  jumping 
on  the  right  lines.  A  show-ring  horse  of  my  o\\ti 
which  had  been  trained  to  jumping  off  tan,  always 
stumbled  very  much  when  I  first  took  her  out 
hunting.  But  this  was  cured  in  the  course  of  a 
very  few  days,  when  she  realized  the  new  con- 
ditions.    However    this    may    be,    it    is    not    the 


INTRODUCTION  7 

purpose  of  these  articles  to  advocate  that  all 
hunters  should  be  purchased  from  or  trained  in  the 
show-ring.  Very  far  from  it.  The  object  is  to 
show  that  by  training  both  the  horse  and  rider, 
very  great  improvements  can  be  made  in  the 
capacity  of  both  for  crossing  a  natural  country. 

In  speaking  of  cross-country  work,  I  do  not 
exclude  steeplechasing.  The  riding  of  our  cross- 
country jockeys  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  and 
the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  Most  professional 
jockeys  start  in  a  training  stable  as  lads,  riding 
exercise  to  start  with ;  then  doing  gallops,  and  finally 
are  put  up  in  their  first  race.  As  their  weight 
increases,  and  they  become  too  heavy  for  flat 
racing,  they  naturally  drift  into  steeplechasing. 
They  seldom  have  any  proper  tuition  in  the  arts 
of  horsemanship.  Generally  speaking,  they  tumble 
into  the  work  as  best  they  may,  and  as  long  as 
they  "get"  the  course  are  usually  perfectly 
satisfied.  If  they  fall  off  they  blame  the  horse, 
and  no  one  is  in  a  position  to  refute  their  state- 
ments. A  few  years  ago  I  remember  one  horse 
which  was  a  strong  favourite  for  the  National. 
It  did  not  complete  the  course,  and  the  official 
explanation  was  "  fell."  Unfortunately,  for  many 
of  our  jockeys,  the  cinematograph  now  keeps  careful 
record  of  the  events  at  every  fence  in  this  race, 
and  I  purposely  went  to  an  exhibition  of  these 
films  in  order  to  ascertain  what  had  actually 
occurred. 

The  fact  w^as  that  the  horse  had  made  an  extra- 
ordinarily fine  leap  at  this  fence.     He  cleared  it  as 


8  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

clean  as  a  whistle,  and  did  not  even  make  a  "  peck  " 
on  landing.  But  the  jump  had  been  too  good  for 
the  jockey,  and  he  had  been  completely  jumped  off. 

Now,  if  that  jockey  had  kno"v\Ti  how  to  adjust 
his  body  correctly,  and  had  understood  and  studied 
the  theories  and  practice  of  balance,  such  a 
catastrophe  could  not  have  occurred. 

From  the  pictures  that  we  see  in  the  papers 
almost  daily  during  the  steeple  chasing  season,  it 
is  perfectly  clear  that  most  of  our  present-day 
riders  get  themselves  into  thoroughly  wrong 
positions.  Frequently  they  are  grotesque,  but  so 
common  are  they  that  the  public  look  upon  them 
as  correct.  Most  of  our  o^vners  and  trainers  accept 
those  positions  as  being  inseparable  from  the  exi- 
gencies of  racing  over  fences,  and  the  riders  are 
never  checked,  nor  are  their  faults  explained  to 
them,  because  in  the  great  majority  of  cases 
neither  o^\^lers  nor  trainers  study  the  subject 
theoretically.  And  so  we  go  on,  riding  more  than 
any  other  nation,  proud  of  our  horses,  our  riders 
and  our  sport,  but,  on  that  very  account,  make 
no  effort  to  improve.  Those  foreigners  with,  fewer 
advantages,  who  realize  that  it  is  necessary  for 
them  to  make  up  by  study  what  they  lack 
in  opportunity,  can  now  "  show  us  the  way," 
and  it  is  high  time  that  the  riding  public  of  Great 
Britain  should  grasp  this  sad  fact,  and  by  copying 
their  methods,  and  taking  advantage  of  their 
long  study  in  the  arts  of  horsemanship,  should 
see  that  the  home  of  riding  still  remains  in  our 
country,  and  that  we  should  still  be  looked  up  to 


INTRODUCTION  9 

as  the  authorities  on  all  pertaining  to  the  horse. 
Unless  we  keep  ourselves  up  to  date,  we  shall 
find  (as  we  have  in  other  branches  of  sport),  that 
we  have  been  surpassed  and  outclassed  before 
we  know  it. 

The  question  of  training  horses  in  riding  schools 
is  one  which  has  been  very  much  neglected  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  in  some  places  may  be 
described  as  non-existent.  Rough  riders  and 
horsebreakers  there  are  in  abundance.  But  when 
they  have  succeeded  in  accustoming  a  horse  to 
hounds,  and  to  getting  over  simple  fences,  they 
usually  consider  the  education  complete,  and 
pass  him  on  to  the  first  purchaser  as  soon  as 
possible. 

The  fascinating  study  of  bridling,  bending  and 
balancing  is  frequently  overlooked,  and  yet,  what 
a  pleasure  it  is  to  ride  a  horse  so  trained,  even  if 
one  does  nothing  else  beyond  merely  hacking  along 
a  road.  It  is  far  too  common  to  see  hunters 
trotting  along  a  road  with  their  noses  stuck  out, 
and  their  necks  as  straight  as  a  poker.  In  fact 
I  have  often  heard  it  said  that  "bridling"  is 
unnecessary  for  hunters,  and  all  "  that  sort  of 
thing  "  can  be  left  to  riding  masters  and  "  faddists." 
It  is  very  unfortunate  that  so  many  people  hold 
such  views.  Until  they  have  ridden  a  properly 
schooled  horse,  they  have  never  experienced  a 
quarter  of  the  pleasures  of  riding.  A  friend  of 
mine,  who  is  one  of  the  first  exponents  in  England, 
was  riding  a  very  fine  horse,  for  which  he  had 
paid  five  himdred  guineas.     I  asked  him  what  he 


10  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

intended  doing  ^\dth  so  valuable  a  horse.  "  Oh," 
he  said,  "  it  is  just  a  hack."  I  suggested  it  was 
a  rather  large  figure  to  give  for  a  hack  alone,  to 
which  he  replied,  "It  is  impossible  to  have  too 
perfect  a  hack,  and  he  is  worth  every  penny  of  it." 
I  heartily  concur.  When  sitting  a  perfectly  trained 
horse,  every  stride  is  a  pleasure,  and  no  distance 
is  too  far.  It  is  a  joy  which  none  but  those  who 
have  ridden  one  can  appreciate,  and  it  is  a  pleasure 
which  transcends  ever}i:hing  else.  The  satisfac- 
tion and  the  pride  one  feels  in  riding  a  perfectly 
balanced  horse,  who  answers  to  the  slightest 
pressure  of  either  leg  or  rein,  who  bridles  equally 
well  at  the  walk,  the  trot  or  the  canter,  and  who  is 
absolutely  obedient  to  the  will  of  the  rider,  is  one 
which  has  only  to  be  experienced  to  be  realized. 
Good  training,  amongst  other  things,  means 
absolute  obedience,  and  this  rule  is  as  old  as  the 
hills;  it  only  seems  to  have  been  of  recent  date 
that  it  has  fallen  into  desuetude,  probably  because 
people  have  lived  too  fast  to  devote  either  time 
or  trouble  to  their  horses.  In  the  days  of  Frederick 
the  Great  there  lived  a  well-kno^\Ti  cavalry  leader 
called  Seydlitz.  He  had  been  brought  up  \^'ith 
horses  all  his  life,  and  in  his  young  days  had  been 
made  by  his  father  to  break  in  all  the  horses  on 
the  estate.  His  father  had  been  a  great  martinet, 
and  young  Seydlitz  had  many  a  rough  passage  in 
carrying  out  his  stern  orders.  But  his  training 
had  been  very  thorough,  and  in  later  life,  when  he 
got  command  of  a  cavalry  brigade,  put  all  his 
previous   experience   into   perfecting   the   training 


INTRODUCTION  11 

of  his  horses  and  men.  "  Disobedience,"  he  said, 
"is  as  grave  a  fault  in  a  horse  as  in  a  soldier," 
and  he  would  tolerate  neither. 

One  day  he  was  hacking  across  a  bridge  in 
company  with  Frederick,  who  suddenly  halted, 
and  turned  to  Seydlitz.  "  The  enemy  is  pursuing 
you,  and  in  front  is  a  squadron  who  are  waiting  to 
take  you  prisoner,  what  do  you  do  now?  "  With- 
out a  moment's  hesitation  Seydlitz  turned  his 
horse  and  jumped  over  the  parapet  of  the  bridge 
into  the  water  below  !  When  he  eventually  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  both  himself  and  his  horse  back 
on  to  dry  land,  he  returned,  just  as  he  was,  wet 
from  head  to  foot,  saluted,  and  said  :  "  Sire,  that 
is  what  I  would  do."  The  bridge  bears  the  name 
to  this  day  of  Seydlitz  Briicke,  and  is  a  standing 
memorial  of  what  can  be  done  by  training.  The 
complete  confidence  of  the  horse  in  his  rider,  and 
unquestioning  obedience,  can  be  produced  by 
systematic  and  thorough  education  only,  and  is 
something  worth  aiming  for.  Few  of  us  can  hope 
to  attain  such  a  standard  as  this,  but  the  principle 
is  there  for  all  the  world  to  see,  and  its  undoubted 
advantages  will  help  us  on  many  an  occasion  if 
we  only  have  the  patience  and  the  determination 
to  put  it  into  practice,  whether  it  be  in  battle,  the 
hunting  field,  or  in  less  arduous  pursuits.  Many 
accidents  would  be  avoided  if  we  always  have  our 
horses  under  complete  control,  and  much  more 
pleasurable  our  hours  in  the  saddle  would  be. 
The  point  of  "jogging"  is  one.  All  horses  can 
and  will  walk;  it  is  only  a  question   of  patience. 


12  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

But  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  a  horse  to  walk  if  the 
rider  loses  his  temper  and  jabs  him  in  the  mouth 
or  kicks  him  in  the  ribs,  every  few  minutes. 

A  horse  will  only  walk  when  his  mind  is  at  rest, 
when  he  is  free  from  excitement,  and  from  anticipa- 
tion of  pain.  One  of  the  -first  things  we  look  for 
in  a  trained  horse  is  that  he  will  walk  when  desired, 
and  furthermore  that  he  will  "  walk  out "  without 
breaking,  at  the  will  of  the  rider.  The  horse  that 
vnll  never  walk  is  one  that  has  been  badly  trained 
and  proclaims  the  fact  at  every  step.  There  is  no 
exception  to  this  rule.  The  most  excitable  horses 
vrdl  learn  to  walk  when  by  themselves,  and  it 
requires  nothing  but  patience  to  get  them  to  do  it. 

There  is  another  point  upon  which  we  are 
singularly  neglectful.  Horses  should  be  taught  to 
stand  still  while  being  mounted.  Most  horses 
insist  on  placing  themselves  on  the  crov.n  of  the 
road,  and  force  the  rider  to  mount  from  the  side. 
In  this  way  they  make  mounting  much  more 
difficult.  A  well-trained  horse  will  allow  the 
rider  to  mount  from  the  most  convenient  place. 
Personally  I  like  to  have  my  horses  so  trained 
that  they  will  stand  quietly  in  the  ditch  while 
I  am  mounting  them,  or  to  be  steady  enough 
to  mount  them  from  a  heap  of  stones  or  any 
other  suitable  spot.  This  is  of  great  importance, 
particularly  in  the  cavalry,  but  it  is  much 
overlooked.  And  yet  this  part  of  a  horse's  ele- 
mentary training  is  extremely  easy,  and  requires 
neither  skill  nor  horsemanship  to  accomplish.  This 
and  a  few  other  points  can  be  so  easily  inculcated 


INTRODUCTION  18 

that  it  is  a  pity  the  principles  are  not  generally 
taught  and  adopted,  and  this,  and  the  succeeding 
chapters  will  not  have  been  written  in  vain,  if 
they  succeed  in  helping  some  of  our  keen  young 
riders  to  make  themselves  better  horsemen,  and 
their  horses  better  servants. 

There  is  one  more  point  upon  which  I  want  to 
dwell  for  a  few  moments,  before  concluding  these 
opening  remarks.  I  think  the  horse's  sensibility 
to  pain  is  not  sufficiently  realized  by  the  majority 
of  people,  but  the  reason  for  this  is  not  obscure. 
The  horse  has  no  means  of  expressing  his  feelings, 
neither  vocally  nor  by  facial  contraction,  and  as 
long  as  we  ourselves  are  not  made  aware  of  the  pain 
inflicted,  we  are  inclined  to  delude  ourselves  that 
it  does  not  exist.  I  have  heard  it  actually  said 
that  horses  don't  mind  being  branded  !  Yet,  I 
once  had  a  polo  pony,  an  argentine,  who  had  been 
branded  no  less  than  four  times,  and  when  I  was 
singeing  in  the  stable  I  always  had  to  take  this 
pony  away.  Each  time  he  smelt  the  burning  hair 
he  broke  out  into  a  violent  perspiration,  and 
showed  every  sign  of  terror.  He,  of  course,  could 
never  be  singed,  and  I  never  attempted  to  do  so. 

The  human  faculty  for  reasoning  is  very  limited. 
Most  people  can  only  form  "  a  priori  "  opinions,  and 
their  views  of  life,  of  men  and  of  matter  are  purely 
subjective.  Most  men  dislike  shooting  hares, 
because  they  cry  when  hit,  but  have  no  objection 
to  shooting  pheasants.  A  man  seen  beating  a  dog 
is  called  an  inhuman  monster,  but  the  very  accuser 
quite  probably  will  cut  his  horse  to  ribbands  with 


14  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

whip  and  spur  in  a  race,  and  still  consider  himself 
a  pattern  of  kindness  and  humanity. 

So  let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  Horses  do  feel, 
and  they  feel  very  acutely.  They  are  wonderful 
servants,  and  respond  to  gentle  treatment  most 
nobly.  Let  us,  therefore,  not  abuse  their  generous 
natures,  but  rather  strive  to  bring  out  all  that  is 
good  in  them  by  gentle  methods  supplemented 
by  firmness,  courage  and  resolution. 

I  have  ridden  a  good  many  races  myself  in  days 
gone  by,  and  not  without  some  measure  of  success, 
but  I  can  honestly  look  back  on  the  past  without 
a  shadow  of  regret,  because  I  have  never,  even 
when  riding  the  closest  finish,  ever  used  the  whip 
as  a  means  of  punishment,  or  inflicted  any  un- 
necessary pain  as  an  aid  to  success,  on  an  animal 
I  have  always  found  a  true  and  willing  servant. 


THE   LENGTH   OF  THE   STIRRUP 

The  balance  of  the  body  very  largely  depends 
upon  the  length  of  the  stirrup,  and  upon  its 
accurate  adjustment,  so  it  is  essential  that  we 
understand  everything  connected  with  this  some- 
what complicated  matter  before  we  proceed  to 
discuss  anything  else.  I  propose,  therefore,  to 
deal  with  this  at  some  length.  Generally  speaking, 
the  novice  rides  too  long,  and  many  such  examples 
are  to  be  found  in  our  hunting  fields,  while  on 
the  other  hand,  many  of  our  "  thrusters,"  espe- 
cially those  who  have  ridden  in  a  steeplechase  or 
two,  ride  too  short  when  out  hunting.  In  the  first 
instance  the  fault  is  due  to  not  having  studied  the 
matter  at  all,  and  in  the  second  case  it  is  the 
result  of  a  little  knowledge,  which  means  that 
they  haven't  studied  the  matter  enough.  We  will, 
therefore,  attempt  to  make  the  matter  perfectly 
clear,  so  that  all  that  "run  may  read" — and 
perhaps  ride  too  ! 

There  are  three  distinct  categories  into  which 
the  subject  naturally  divides  itself.  Firstly,  there 
is  the  "  long  "  length,  to  be  used  only  when  walk- 
ing or  going  for  a  gentle  hack  on  a  quiet  horse ; 
secondly,  there  is  the  hunting  length,  which  should 
be  about  two  holes  shorter;  and  finally,  there  is 

15 


16  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

the  steeplechasing  length,  which  should  be  a  couple 
of  holes  shorter  still. 

Variations  between  the  three,  naturally,  often 
occur.  These  are  dependent  upon  the  action  of 
the  horse,  and  the  particular  variety  of  exercise 
about  to  be  performed,  but  this  fact  does  not 
affect  the  three  main  headings  I  purpose  to  deal 
with.  This  question  of  length  is  regarded  by 
some  students  of  such  importance  that  one  of 
my  friends  actually  has  small  steel  slips  of  varying 
thickness  which  he  inserts  on  the  top  of  the  tread 
of  the  iron  so  as  to  be  able  to  make  finer  adjust- 
ments than  would  be  possible  with  the  ordinary 
holes  in  the  stirrup  leather.  (The  holes  are  usually 
one  inch  apart,  so  that  one  hole  makes  the  differ- 
ence of  half  an  inch  in  the  length  of  the  leather.) 
Personally,  I  do  not  think  it  is  necessary  to  make 
such  very  fine  adjustments,  as  any  slight  altera- 
tion can  be  made  by  the  angle  at  which  we  carry 
the  heel,  but  I  mention  this  in  order  to  show  the 
value  that  some  enthusiasts  place  upon  having  the 
length  exactly  right. 

In  order  to  understand  the  reason  for  these 
three  distinct  lengths,  we  must  first  consider  the 
action  of  the  horse.  At  a  walk  the  horse  is  at 
no  moment  in  suspension,  that  is  to  say,  there  is 
no  moment  at  which  all  four  legs  are  off  the  ground. 
He  is  merely  progressing  in  a  similar  manner  to 
the  wheel  of  a  carriage.  His  legs  act  as  the  spokes, 
and  the  base  of  his  shoulders  and  stifle  act  as  the 
hub.  And  as  long  as  we  only  proceed  at  a  walk 
the  length  we  ride  is  merely  a  question  of  comfort. 


THE  LENGTH  OF  THE   STIRRUP      17 

There  is  no  problem  to  solve ;  but  directly  the 
horse  breaks  into  a  trot  (or  even  the  very  common 
"  jog")  we  find,  at  once,  the  question  is  one  that 
demands  immediate  solution.  Directly  a  horse  is 
trotting  his  body  is  in  suspension  for  a  brief  period. 
When  "jogging"  the  distance  is  probably  only 
about  half  a  foot  in  length  before  one  foot  or  other 
meets  the  grovmd;  when  trotting  short,  the  dis- 
tance is  about  two  feet.  The  "  trot  out  "  may  be 
three  or  even  four  feet,  depending  very  largely 
upon  the  action  of  the  horse.  A  free  horse  with 
good  shoulders  will  be  in  suspension  considerably 
loncrer  than  a  stiff  animal  with  a  tied-in  action 
and  bad  shoulders.  The  canter,  again,  can  vary 
from  one  foot  to  five,  while  the  gallop  can  be  as 
much  as  ten  feet.  When  a  horse  is  jumping,  the 
distance  he  is  in  suspension  may  vary  from  ten 
to  twenty  or  even  twenty-five  feet.  Consequently 
what  we  have  to  consider  when  first  mounting  is, 
what  are  we  going  to  ask  the  horse  to  perform, 
and  what  he  is  likely  to  perform. 

In  all  questions  where  movement  is  concerned, 
it  is  necessary  to  anticipate  the  future,  so  as  to  be 
prepared  for  sudden  emergency.  For  example,  the 
track  runner,  when  waiting  for  the  pistol,  is  leaning 
actually  further  forward  than  he  does  when  he 
has  commenced  the  race,  the  reason  being  that 
he  is  anticipating  the  kick  off  he  intends  giving 
on  the  pistol  sounding;  and  were  he  not  in  this 
position  he  would  either  find  himself  unbalanced 
when  starting,  or  on  the  other  hand,  if  he  intended 
to  avoid  this,  he  would  not  be  able  to  kick  off 
c 


18 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


quite  so  hard.  Or  take  boxing  :  when  a  man  is 
fighting  he  leans  his  body  forward,  both  so  as  to 
be  in  a  position  to  spring  at  his  opponent  and  to 
be  prepared  to  meet  a  blow  from  him.  No  matter 
what  branch  of  athletics  we  take,  the  laws  of 
dynamics  must  be   observed,  and  so  even  more 


Sketch  No.  2 

This  is  a  sketch  of  a  man  quietly 
trotting  in  the  ordinary  position. 
The  point  to  be  noticed  here  is  that 
his  attitude  is  similar  in  all  respects 
to  that  of  the  man  in  the  next 
sketch,  about  to  jump  a  small  drain. 


Sketch  No.  3 

This  man's  attitude,  it 
will  be  seen,  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  rider  in 
the  foregoing  sketch.  Try 
it  for  yourself  and  see. 


particularly  in  horsemanship,  when  the  movement 
of  the  horse  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  uncertain. 
The  probable  movements  of  the  horse  must  be 
anticipated.  The  greater  the  effort,  the  more  must 
the  body  be  forward,  and  the  more  the  body  is 
forward,  the  shorter  must  be  the  stirrups  in  order 
to  maintain  the  true  balance  of  the  body.  For 
example,  a  man,  about  to  make  a  standing  long 


THE  LENGTH  OF  THE  STIRRUP      19 


jump  of  only  two  or  three  feet,  will  place  himself 
in  a  position  shown  in  sketch  No.  3.  Here  he 
only  anticipates  a  comparatively  gentle  thrust,  but 
when  he  is  going  to  make  the  longest  jump  he 
possibly    can,    then    he    assumes    the    position    in 


Sketch  No.  5 

This  position  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  rider  in  the 
previous  sketch. 


Sketch  No.  4 

This  is  the  attitude  a  rider 
should  adopt  when  jumping  a 
very  big  fence,  and  his  position 
is,  again,  just  the  same  as  that 
of  the  man  in  the  next  sketch 
who  is  about  to  make  a  broad 
standing  leap. 

Note  that  although  the  lower 
part  of  his  leg  is  apparently- 
thrown  back,  the  stirrup  leather 
is  perpendicular. 

sketch  No.  5.  Now,  from  these  two  sketches  it 
can  be  readily  seen  that  as  he  leans  his  body 
forward,  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  bend  his 
knees  in  similar  proportions,  so  as  to  maintain  his 
balance.     If  we  now  look  at  sketches  No.  2  and 


20  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

No.  4,  we  mil  see  that  this  position  is  almost 
similar  to  the  attitude  that  should  be  adopted 
in  the  saddle.  In  the  first  ease  we  see  the  rider 
as  he  should  be  when  trotting.  Here  he  only 
expects  but  a  slight  variation  of  speed  in  the 
steady  pace  at  which  the  horse  is  going.  His 
position  is,  therefore,  similar  to  that  of  a  man 
about  to  make  only  a  very  small  standing  jump. 
Li  the  second  sketch  the  rider  has  anticipated  the 
very  strong  thrust,  or  propelling  power,  the  horse 
put  into  force  as  he  took  off  for  the  jump,  and 
represents  the  position  of  a  rider  when  a  horse  is 
making  an  exceptionally  powerful  leap.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  rider's  attitude  is  the  same  as  when 
about  to  make  as  long  a  standing  jump  as  possible, 
as  depicted  in  sketch  No.  5.  In  both  of  these 
sketches  it  should  be  noted  that  the  hang  of  the 
stirrup-leather  line  is  perpendicular.  In  the  first 
sketch,  where  the  horse  is  at  the  trot,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  iron  should  rest  on  the  foot  very 
nearly  in  the  "  home  "  position.  In  the  second 
it  rests  on  the  ball  of  the  foot.  This  rather  interest- 
ing fact  is  confirmed  both  in  theory  and  in  practice. 
If  we  look  at  the  two  sketches  of  the  man  about 
to  jump,  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  first  sketch 
his  heels  are  hardly  off  the  ground  at  all,  which 
is  similar  to  the  position  of  the  iron  when  mounted 
at  the  trot,  where  it  hangs  far  back  on  the  foot. 
As  he  increases  his  effort  at  springing,  vide  sketch 
No.  5,  he  gets  more  on  to  his  toes,  and  so,  similarly, 
do  his  irons  get  further  forward  as  the  effort  of 
the  horse  increases.     In  practice,  when  a  horse  is 


THE   LENGTH   OF  THE   STIRRUP      21 

making  a  big  effort,  the  rider  feels  as  if  he  were 
throwing  the  bottom  part  of  his  leg  right  back. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  does  not  throw  them  any 
further  back  than  the  sketch  demonstrates.  But  as 
the  inclination  of  the  horse's  body  is  upward,  it 
feels  as  if  one  were  throwing  the  heel  back  very 
much  further  than  one  really  is ;  and  in  doing  so, 
it  is  of  frequent  occurrence  to  find  that  the  stirrup 
has  slipped  on  to  the  fore  part  of  the  foot,  as, 
indeed,  it  must  do  unless  it  is  kept  "  home  "  by 
a  slight  depression  of  the  ball  of  the  foot.  It  is 
also  not  an  uncommon  experience  to  lose  the  stirrup 
altogether  on  landing.  This  is,  of  course,  due  to  the 
angle  of  descent,  and  when  it  occurs  it  demon- 
strates that  the  rider  has  been  riding  a  little  too 
long.  If  he  rode  a  little  shorter  the  principle 
would,  naturally,  be  the  same,  but  it  would  bring 
the  knee  a  little  more  forward  in  the  saddle,  so 
that  at  the  moment  of  which  I  am  speaking,  the 
stirrup  would  not  slip  right  off  the  foot,  although 
the  tendency  for  it  to  get  a  little  forward  would 
still  exist. 

If  we  now  turn  once  more  to  sketch  No.  2,  we 
see  the  rider  riding  at  the  proper  length  for  what 
the  horse  is  doing  at  the  moment,  i.  e.  trotting. 
But  supposing  the  horse  were  to  shy  or  suddenly 
jump  into  the  air,  then  the  rider  would  find  himself 
riding  too  long ;  but  fortunately  these  surprises  are 
not  of  very  frequent  occurrence,  and  we  can  afford 
to  risk  them  when  we  are  riding  a  trained  horse. 
But  should  he  be  riding  a  young  horse  that  might 
do    anything   at    any    moment,    then    he    should 


22  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

certainly     anticipate    all     eventualities    and    ride 
shorter,  even  when  going  at  a  walk. 

We  can  now  tabulate  the  following  points  : — 

(1)  The  greater  the  propelling  force,  the  further 
must  the  body  be  forward  in  order  to  counteract 
that  force,  which,  without  assistance,  would  leave 
the  rider  "  behind." 

(2)  That  in  order  to  have  the  body  forward,  the 
knees  must  be  more  bent  or  "  pointed,"  in  order 
to  maintain  the  equilibrium. 

(3)  That  when  the  knees  are  more  bent  (or 
pointed)  the  stirrups  must  be  shorter. 

These  three  axioms,  however,  require  a  little 
more  explanation.  When  we  are  merely  trotting 
along  a  road,  we  do  not  expect  much  variation  in 
a  horse's  stride,  but  when  we  are  galloping  across 
country  we  do.  At  any  moment  we  may  meet  a 
drain,  or  hole,  or  a  rough  piece  of  ground,  which 
will  cause  the  horse  to  alter  the  uniformity  of  his 
speed.  In  the  gallop  he  is  proceeding  by  a  series 
of  bounds  covering,  say,  six  feet;  when  reaching 
a  small  obstacle  he  may  clear  it  by  increasing 
his  stride  to  fifteen  feet,  or  he  may  suddenly  check 
his  speed  and  then  make  a  big  leap.  On  such 
occasions,  unless  we  had  anticipated  such  even- 
tualities, we  should  find  ourselves  suddenly  "  left 
behind." 

When  we  are  expecting  the  horse  to  make  a 
jump  of  any  size,  we  can  expect  him  to  clear 
twenty  feet  or  even  more,  and  then  the  force  of 
propulsion  is  extreme. 

The  question,  therefore,  that  we  have  to  consider 


THE  LENGTH   OF   THE   STIRRUP      23 

is,  how  to  prepare  ourselves  to  meet  this  anticipated 
force. 

It  is  of  supreme  importance,  and  must  be 
thoroughly  grasped  before  any  further  advance  can 
be  made  in  our  investigations. 

Some  people  suppose  that  the  balance  of  the 
body  is  maintained  by  a  knee  grip.  This  is  not 
the  case.  The  balance  of  the  body  is  maintained 
in  riding  in  a  similar  manner  to  walking  or  running, 
which  is  by  one's  feet. 

Let  us  suppose  a  man  is  sitting  loosely  on  the 
back  of  a  dogcart.  Directly  the  horse  springs 
unexpectedly  forward,  he  will  find  himself  deposited 
upon  the  ground.  But  if  he  anticipated  the 
forward  movement,  he  will  place  his  feet  firmly 
on  the  tailboard,  and  lean  his  body  back  (because 
in  this  instance  he  is  sitting  with  his  back  to  the 
horse).  If  he  has  done  this,  then  when  the  jerk 
occurs  he  will  be  able  to  maintain  his  seat  without 
disaster.  This  is  merely  an  elementary  law  of 
dynamics. 

Again,  when  a  horse  is  trotting,  cantering  or 
galloping  at  a  uniform  speed,  the  action,  according 
to  the  laws  of  motion,  is  similar  to  a  man  standing 
on  an  open  railway  truck.  If  the  train  is  pro- 
gressing at  a  uniform  rate,  the  man  in  the  truck 
has  no  problem  to  solve  (apart  from  wind  pressure). 
But  directly  the  train  either  slovv^s  down  or  increases 
its  pace  suddenly,  then  his  difficulties  become 
apparent  in  exact  proportion  to  the  speed  at  which 
the  train  is  travelling  and  the  amount  of  alteration 
in  that  speed.     If  the  train  were  travelling  fast, 


24  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

he  would  be  foolhardy  to  stand  bolt  upright  ^vith- 
out  holding  on  to  anything,  because  directly  the 
brakes  were  put  on  he  would  fall  forward  at  once 
if  he  were  facing  the  engine.  Supposing  he  had 
nothing  to  hold  on  to,  if  he  were  wise  he  would 
certainly  keep  his  body  well  forward,  so  as  to 
anticipate  the  putting  on  of  the  brakes. 

And  so  it  is  in  a  similar  manner  in  riding.  The 
laws  of  dynamics  are  the  same,  whether  we  ride  or 
run,  and  the  rules  for  maintaining  our  balance  are 
similar. 

The  stirrup  iron  must  always  be  looked  upon  as 
the  ground  upon  which  a  man  stands  previous  to 
making  a  jump.  As  a  man  balances  himself  on 
the  fore  part  of  his  feet  before  making  a  standing 
jump,  so  must  the  rider  balance  himself  on  his 
stirrup  irons  before  the  horse  makes  his  spring. 

Consequently,  the  first  point  we  have  to  realize 
is  that  the  stirrup  leather  should  always  hang 
perpendicularly,  so  as  to  ensure  a  firm  foundation 
for  the  poise  of  the  body.  A  leather  hanging  'v^dth 
a  forward  slope  (vide  the  copy  of  the  photograph  on 
p.  4)  ob^dously  cannot  afford  a  moment's  support 
for  the  balance  of  the  body,  because  directly  any 
weight  is  placed  upon  it,  it  must  at  once  fall  to 
the  perpendicular.  To  have  the  leather  sloping 
backward  is  a  position  that  can  be  only  main- 
tained temporarily.  It  may  occur  in  moments  of 
extremity,  when  a  horse  is  "pecking"  or  falling 
(vide  sketches  Nos.  19  and  20),  but  under  all  other 
conditions  there  is  only  one  position,  and  that  is 
upright. 


THE  LENGTH   OF   THE   STIRRUP      25 


To  have  the  stirrups  pushed  forward  is  an 
extremely  common  fault.  When  this  occurs,  it 
means  that  the  foot  ceases  to  be  the  fulcrum. 
The  fulcrum  has  then  become  the  knee,  and  the 
body  is  only  kept  in  position  by  a  knee  grip, 
which  merely  means  that  the  rider  is  forced  to 
overcome  the  insecurity  of  hisjpoise  by  muscular 
effort,  trying  not  only  to 
himself  but  to  his  mount. 
So  that  before  we  proceed 
further  with  this  dis- 
cussion, it  must  be 
thoroughly  understood 
that  in  riding,  as  well  as 
in  any  other  exercise,  the 
balance  of  the  body  starts 
from  the  feet,  and  that 
the  stirrup  iron  repre- 
sents the  ground  upon 
which  we  stand,  and  from 
which  point  the  rest  of 
the  body  is  adjusted  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  balance. 

Consequently,  for  all  practical  purposes,  we  must 
remember  to  keep  the  stirrup  leather  perpendicular. 

Bearing  this  in  mind,  we  will  now  see  what 
effect  the  seat  in  various  parts  of  the  saddle  will 
have  upon  the  length  of  the  leather. 

Looking  at  diagram  No.  I,  it  can  easily  be  seen 
that  position  A  is  the  only  one  which  is  approxi- 
mately correct.  Position  B  is  one  where  the  rider 
has  only  slipped  back  three  or  four  inches,  and  his 


Diagram  I 


26 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


knee  is  almost  resting  on  the  stirrup  leather  itself. 
In  position  C  the  knee  is  actually  behind  the  leather 
— an  obviously  impossible  position  for  riding  in. 
From  this  rough  diagram  it  is  clearly  demonstrated 
that  in  position  A  the  rider  is  riding  a  comfortable 
and  suitable  length,  but  that  as  his  body  slips  back 
his  position,  as  far  as  reaching  the  stirrup  iron  is 
concerned,  becomes  more 
and  more  difficult  as  the 
angle  of  the  knee  joint 
increases.  Should  he  at- 
tempt to  rectify  it  by 
bringing  the  iron  back, 
the  result,  diagram- 
matically,  would  be  as 
shown. 

Here  the  only  position 
at  w^hich  he  can  put  his 
weight  on  to  a  perpen- 
dicular leather  is  position 
A.  In  the  others  it  is 
clear     that     he     would 

never  be  able  to  put  his  weight  upon  them  for 
one  moment.  Directly  he  did  so  they  would 
swing  forward  instantly  to  the  perpendicular. 

Consequently,  as  we  wish  to  raise  our  knees,  the 
body  slips  back  in  the  saddle,  and  the  stirrups 
must  be  correspondingly  shortened,  as  the  next 
diagram  shows.  If  we  shortened  our  stirrups  with- 
out sitting  further  back  in  the  saddle,  we  should 
find  our  knees  protruding  in  front  of  the  flap  of 
the  saddle.     It  is  difficult  to  make  any  accurate 


Diagram  II 


THE   LENGTH   OF  THE   STIRRUP      27 


measurements.  But,  roughly,  three  inches  back 
in  the  saddle  will  necessitate  the  leathers  being 
shortened  one  inch  (or  two  holes). 

Looking  at  diagram  III,  we  see  an  entirely 
different  state  of  affairs,  because  the  stirrups  are 
shortened  as  the  body  goes  back  in  the  saddle. 
Here  the  knee  is  in  each  case  in  front  of  the  stirrup 
leather.  The  leathers  can 
remain  upright,  and  the 
rider  can  in  each  case 
place  the  whole  of  his 
weight  upon  them,  and 
by  leaning  his  body  for- 
ward a  true  balance  can 
be  maintained. 

It  may  be  said  that 
it  is  easy  to  lean  the 
body  forward  without 
shortening  the  stirrups. 
This  is  perfectly  true,  but 
the  body  is  unbalanced. 
It  is  a  simple  matter  to 

lean  the  body  forward  when  on  the  ground  without 
bending  the  knees  at  all,  as  when  making  a  bow. 
But  when  in  this  position  it  would  be  impossible 
to  make  even  the  smallest  jump.  When  riding  it 
is  certainly  possible  to  do  so,  but  it  is  the  attitude 
of  a  "  passenger,"  and  not  of  a  horseman,  because 
in  that  position  there  is  neither  control  nor  balance. 

I  think,  therefore,  that  it  must  now  be  clear  that 
in  order  to  counteract  propulsion  the  stirrups  must 
be  shortened  in  order  to  get  the  body  more  for- 


DlAGRAM   III 


28  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

ward;  and  the  next  point  is  to  try  and  ascertain 
how  much  they  should  be  shortened,  and  how  we 
should  know  when  they  are  of  the  right  length. 

All  books  on  horsemanship  advocate  keeping  the 
lower  portion  of  the  leg  back.  Personally,  I  prefer 
to  say  that  the  knee  should  be  "  pointed."  I  con- 
sider this  a  better  way  of  expressing  the  same 
thing,  because  when  one  is  sitting  in  the  saddle 
we  should  feel  as  if  our  knees  were  pointed,  and 
as  if  they  were  the  foremost  portion  of  our  whole 
body.  It  is  only  when  the  knee  is  "pointed" 
that  the  full  action  of  the  muscles  of  the  knee 
joint  can  come  into  play.  It  is  by  this  action  of 
the  knee  joint  that  we  are  able  to  obtain  the 
absorption  of  all  shock  or  jolt  to  the  body.  When 
trotting  along  a  road,  as  long  as  the  knees  are 
properly  pointed  we  find  the  knee  sliding  very 
slightly  up  and  do^n  on  the  saddle  with  each 
stride  of  the  horse.  This  applies  still  more  so  at 
the  gallop,  and  in  its  most  marked  degree  when 
landing  after  a  jump,  when  the  shock  of  impact 
is  most  severe.  ! 

Bearing  this  point  in  mind,  how  do  we  know 
when  we  are  riding  the  proper  length  ?  The  answer 
is,  that  we  should  ride  the  longest  length  possible 
consonant  with  being  able  to  keep  the  knee  pointed. 
If  we  are  riding  too  long,  then  we  cannot  get  our 
bodies  far  enough  forward,  and  if  we  cannot  get 
our  bodies  far  enough  forward  we  are  "  left  behind  " 
when  the  thrust  comes.  If  we  are  "  left  behind  " 
our  bodies  are  leaning  back,  and  if  our  bodies  are 
leaning  back,  provided  we  still  maintain  the  proper 


THE  LENGTH  OF  THE   STIRRUP      29 

pressure  upon  the  reins,  we  have  to  push  our 
feet  forward,  and  then  our  knees  are  not  pointed. 
Sometimes  we  are  unaware  of  the  fact,  and  that 
is  where  instantaneous  photography  is  of  such 
value. 

I  remember  once  riding  over  some  fences,  and 
thought  at  the  time  that  I  had  been  correct.  It 
was  only  when  I  saw  the  photographs  which  had 
been  taken  that  I  realized  I  had  been  riding  at 
least  a  hole  too  long.  It  was  quite  evident  that 
I  had  been  "  left  behind,"  because  my  feet  were 
well  in  advance  of  my  knees ;  and  a  very  valuable 
lesson  it  was. 

One  cannot  always  tell  these  things  oneself.  It 
is  advisable  to  have  a  friend  who  wall  notice  these 
points  and  tell  you  about  them  afterwards,  but, 
better  still,  the  camera  is  the  best  and  surest 
guide. 

Theoretically  speaking,  the  iron  should  be  kept 
on  the  ball  of  the  foot,  and  in  practical  riding  it 
should  be  so  carried  to  a  much  greater  extent 
than  has  been  the  practice  of  late.  The  balance 
of  the  body  is  more  easily  maintained,  and  it 
enables  the  ankle  joint  to  be  brought  into  play 
as  a  shock  absorber  as  w^ell  as  the  knee  joint,  a 
combination  which  makes  an  almost  perfect  spring, 
so  that  when  both  are  put  to  use,  the  body  feels 
no  jar  whatever  when,  for  example,  one  is  landing 
over  a  fence.  The  only  reason  for  not  so  holding 
the  stirrup  is  that  w^hen  the  soles  of  one's  boots 
become  muddy,  or  the  roughing  is  worn  off  the 
tread  of  the  iron,  there  is  a  considerable  chance  of 


30  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

the  iron  slipping  off  the  foot,  as  the  heel  sinks  to 
the  pressure  of  the  impact ;  but  apart  from  this 
consideration,  it  is  just  as  easy,  and  it  is  more 
comfortable  to  jump  a  fence  with  the  stirrups  on 
the  ball  of  the  foot  than  with  them  driven  home. 

But  it  requires  more  practice,  it  necessitates  the 
leg  being  in  the  correct  position,  and  for  beginners 
it  is  certainly  easier  to  ride  with  the  irons  "  home." 

It  may  now  be  asked,  why  shouldn't  we  always 
anticipate  the  possibility  of  the  horse  making  a 
serious  plunge  or  of  his  taking  a  big  jump,  and 
ride  always  as  short  as  a  steeplechase  rider  ?  The 
reply  to  this  is  merely  a  matter  of  comfort,  both 
for  the  rider  and  the  horse. 

Riding  very  short  is  tiring,  and  unless  we  are 
actually  engaged  in  galloping  and  jumping,  it  should 
not  be  maintained. 

The  short  stirrup,  as  has  been  demonstrated, 
throws  the  seat  back  further  in  the  saddle,  and 
when  we  are  merely  walking  or  trotting  quietly, 
it  is  not  only  more  comfortable  to  ourselves  to 
take  up  a  more  forward  seat,  it  is  necessary  for 
the  comfort  of  the  horse.  The  loins  are  his  weakest 
point,  and  it  should  be  our  endeavour  to  keep  our 
weight  off  that  portion  of  his  back  as  much  as 
possible.  When  coming  home  from  hunting  after 
a  tiring  day  it  should  be  a  rule  to  let  one's  stirrups 
out  a  couple  of  holes.  It  is  a  relief  to  both  oneself 
and  the  horse.  Not  so,  however,  when  going  to 
the  meet.  Neither  horse  nor  rider  are  tired,  and 
it  is  as  well  to  anticipate  the  horse  shying  or  giving 
a  playful  buck,  and  under  such  circumstances  it 


THE   LENGTH   OF   THE   STIRRUP      31 

would  be   necessary  to  be   riding  the   customary 
"  hunting"  length. 

Let  us  now  study  diagram  IV.     The  line  A  B 
represents  the   direction   of  the   force   of  impact. 


Jar  absorbed  by 
action  of  knee  joint 


Action  of  ankles  ^  ^ 
a  further  shocK  adsorber]  -^ 


Knee  forced  by  impact  to 
this  position 

b 


Point  of  impact 


Dligram  IV 


The  point  B  is  where  the  horse's  fore  foot  meets 
the  ground.  (The  principle  is  the  same  whether 
trotting,  galloping  or  jumping.  But  as  the  points 
are  more  clearly  brought  out  in  the  latter,  we  will 
assume  the  horse  to  be  landing  over  a  fence.) 
Now,  it  will  be  noticed,  if  my  readers  will  look  at 
any  of  the  sketches  or  photographs  representing  a 


32  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

horse  and  rider  under  similar  conditions,  that  the 
line  of  the  thigh  is  in  almost  exact  continuation 
of  the  line  of  that  leg  which  the  horse  is  putting 
to  the  ground  first.  In  other  words,  the  line  A  B 
is  composed  of  the  rider's  thigh  as  well  as  the 
horse's  leg  {vide  sketch  No  15). 

Now,  as  the  force  of  impact  occurs  it  drives  the 
thigh  downwards  along  that  line,  causing  the  knee 
(which  must  be  pointed)  to  slide  from  the  point  C 
to  the  point  D.  The  foot  should  remain  in  the 
same  position,  taking  the  full  weight  of  the  body  on 
the  stirrup  leather,  which  is  always  perpendicular. 
As  the  shock  occurs,  the  muscles  of  the  knee  joint 
come  into  play,  forming  a  spring,  which  absorbs 
all  the  shock,  so  that  the  body  is  entirely  unaffected. 

If  the  rider  happens  to  be  riding  with  his  irons 
on  the  ball  of  his  feet  (as  showTi  in  the  diagram), 
a  second  and  almost  equally  effective  spring  is 
brought  into  play  in  the  ankle  joint.  Here,  again, 
as  the  knee  is  depressed,  so  is  the  heel,  acting  as 
a  double  shock  absorber  for  the  body. 

Unless  our  stirrups,  therefore,  are  short  enough 
to  enable  us  to  keep  our  knees  pointed  at  this 
moment,  then  we  are  riding  too  long.  It  is  not 
a  rule  of  thumb,  but  of  experiment,  varying  with 
different  horses  under  varying  conditions,  and  the 
stirrups  must  be  adjusted  accordingly.  But  having 
satisfied  oneself  with  these  conditions,  the  stirrups 
then  should  be  as  long  as  possible. 

Were  I  asked  to  express  the  whole  question 
axiomatically,  I  would  say  "keep  your  knees 
pointed   always." 


THE  LENGTH  OF  THE  STIRRUP      38 

The  length  of  the  stirrup  has  nothmg  whatever 
to  do  with  the  lateral  measurement  of  the  horse, 
as  many  people  suppose.  It  is  quite  immaterial 
whether  the  horse  is  round-  or  flat-sided.  If  any 
of  my  readers  still  think  it  has,  I  will  ask  them, 
next  time  they  are  in  the  saddle,  to  open  out  their 
knees  well  from  the  horse's  sides  for  a  moment, 
and  they  will  find  that  in  so  doing  it  does  not 
alter  the  length  of  the  stirrup  leather  in  the  very 
slightest.  What  does  require  a  different  length 
for  different  horses  is  nothing  more  or  less  than 
action,  or  in  other  words,  the  length  of  his  stride 
and  the  distance  that  he  is  in  suspension. 

The  next  chapter  will  deal  with  the  length  of 
rein,  which  is  certainly  second  to,  if  not  as  equally 
important  as,  the  subject  that  has  just  been  dealt 
with. 


THE  LENGTH  OF  THE  REINS 

Now  that  we  have  adjusted  our  stirrups,  the 
next  point  we  must  study  is  the  length  of  our 
reins.  Although  I  have  placed  this  question  second 
in  the  order  of  importance,  it  has  so  great  a  bearing 
on  the  whole  balance  and  poise  of  the  body,  that 
I  am  not  really  sure  whether  I  shouldn't  have 
placed  it  first.  Once  we  have  grasped  the  laws  of 
balance  which  I  have  attempted  to  make  clear  in 
the  preceding  chapter,  we  will  find  that  most  of  our 
mistakes  will  be  due  to  having  our  reins  too  long. 
The  rules  here  are  very  similar  to  those  which 
obtain  in  deciding  upon  the  length  of  stirrup. 
They  are  the  laws  of  anticipation. 

When  we  are  standing  still  or  walking,  and  do 
not  anticipate  any  unexpected  movement,  then  the 
reins  may  be  long.  That  is  to  say,  of  that  length 
which  enables  one  to  have  a  "  feel  "  on  the  horse's 
mouth,  and  one's  hands  comfortably  placed  in 
front  of  the  body.  It  mil  be  unnecessary  for  me 
to  dwell  upon  this  attitude,  because  I  have  no 
criticisms  to  offer  upon  the  method  by  which  the 
reins  are  held  when  at  a  walking  pace  by  most 
of  our  English  riders.  Like  the  stirrups,  when 
only  walking,  there  is  no  problem  to  solve.     Any 

34 


THE   LENGTH   OF  THE   REINS         35 

length  will  do  which  is  comfortable  and  convenient. 
But  directly  we  anticipate  some  other  movement 
on  the  part  of  the  horse,  then  it  is  a  matter  that 
calls  for  immediate  attention.  I  believe  it  is  the 
custom  in  all  riding  schools  to  give  the  warning 
order,  "  Prepare  to  trot,"  whereupon  the  pupils 
are  instructed  to  shorten  their  reins  before  the 
executive  command  is  given.  So  far  so  good;  up 
to  this  point  we  are  on  common  ground  and  we 
all  think  alike.  But  it  is  when  we  come  to  more 
advanced  stages  of  riding  that  we  may  possibly, 
up  till  now,  have  seen  things  from  a  somewhat 
different  aspect. 

As  we  have  to  shorten  our  reins  for  trotting,  it 
appears  to  me  a  logical  sequence  that  we  should 
shorten  them  still  further  when  about  to  jump. 
This,  however,  does  not  appear  to  me  to  have  been 
the  instruction  imparted  to  a  large  majority  of 
hunting  people,  judging  from  what  I  see.  In  fact, 
I  know  that  in  many  cases  the  principle  is  not 
taught. 

Let  us  for  a  moment   discuss  sketch  No.  6. 

Here  we  see  a  jockey  walking  up  to  the  starting- 
post. 

He  is  correctly  balanced  in  the  saddle  for  the 
pace  he  is  going,  and  his  reins  are  short  enough 
to  maintain  a  "  feel  "  on  the  horse's  mouth,  pro- 
vided, and  only  provided,  that  the  horse  does 
nothing  except  walk  along  as  he  is  doing. 

But  directly  the  horse  does  anything  which  he 
doesn't  expect,  what  is  the  result?  If  he  wishes 
to  maintain  the  balance  of  his  body  by  throwing 


36  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

it  forward,  he  firstly  has  to  separate  his  hands, 
because  placed  as  they  are  he  cannot  get  his  body 
forward  over  the  top  of  them,  and  he  cannot  allow 
his  hands  to  go  forward  even  in  the  slightest 
degree,  because  that  would  give  the  horse  more 
rein  just  at  the  very  moment  he  should  have  less. 


Sketch  No.  6 

Any  rider  is  quite  justified  in  riding,  when  at  a  walk,  with  his 
reins  as  long  as  this.  It  is  comfortable  and  convenient,  provided 
you  are  sure  your  horse  is  not  going  to  do  anything  unexpect€id. 


Therefore  his  best  solution  is  as  shown  in  the  next 
sketch.  Here  he  has  succeeded  in  throwing  his 
body  enough  forward  to  meet  the  plunge  the  horse 
has  given,  but  his  hands  are  right  back,  and  he 
is  holding  his  reins  nearly  at  their  extreme  length. 
Also,  incidentally  he  is  using  the  reins  as  a  lever 
with  which  to  manoeuvre  his  body  further  forward. 


THE  LENGTH   OF  THE   REINS 


37 


In  this  position  our  friend  has  ceased  to  ride, 
he  is  merely  "  a  passenger,"  and  the  horse  can  do 
exactly  what  he   chooses,  until  he   has   gathered 


Sketch  No.  7 

But  if  he  does  this,  then  there  are  only  two  courses  open 
to  you.  You  must  throw  your  body  forward  so  as  to  maintain 
your  balance,  which  will  necessitate  separating  your  hands  so 
as  to  keep  up  the  pressure  on  the  reins,  which  you  dare  not  relax ; 


up  his  reins  and  assumed  a  correct  position  once 
more. 

If  he  doesn't  adopt  this  method,  there  is  only 
one  other  result,  which  is  shown  in  the  next  draw- 
ing.    He  is  "  left  behind."     His  body  is  thrown 


38  HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

back,  his  legs  fly  forward,  and,  being  completely 
off  his  balance,  his  hands  swing  upwards.  All  my 
readers  will  agree,  I  am  sure,  that  I  have  not  over- 
drawn this  picture.     In  fact,  as  photographs  show, 


Sketch  No.  8 

Or,  you  must  be  "  left  behind."  In  which  case  your  body  la 
thrown  back,  and  in  order  to  regain  your  balance  your  hands  go 
up  and  your  feet  go  out. 


the  positions  that  some  of  us  get  into  are  often 
very  much  worse  than  this.  Occasionally  it  occurs 
actually  that  the  reins  are  flung  over  the  horse's 
head.  It  has  occurred  to  most  of  us  some  time  or 
another  when  landing  over  a  fence,  and  we  recover 
ourselves  to  find  all  four  reins  on  the  same  side  of 


THE   LENGTH   OF   THE   REINS 


89 


the  horse's  neck.     The  reason  for  this  has  been 
that  we  have  ridden  with  our  reins  too  long. 

If  we  turn  to  sketch  No.  9  we  shall  see  the  length 
of  rein  that  a  jockey  should  have  when  going  up 
to  the  post  if  he  has  reason  to  prepare  for  the 
"  unexpected."    He  doesn't  look  so  comfortable,  or 


Sketch  No.  9 


But  if  you  are  wise,  and  suspect  a  sudden  movement  of  your 
horse,  you  will  ride  with  your  reins  this  length.  It  is  not  qmte 
so  comfortable  or  so  graceful,  but — 

SO  "  insouciant,"  as  the  rider  in  sketch  No.  6,  but 
he  is  ready  for  any  eventuality  which  No.  6  is  not ; 
and  if  we  now  turn  to  sketch  No.  10,  and  compare 
that  with  Nos.  7  and  8,  we  can  easily  see  which 
has  the  best  control.  There  is  no  time  to  shorten 
the  reins  after  the  bound  the  horse  has  taken,  so 
the  wise  man  does  so  before. 

To  me,  of  all  the  difficulties  of  riding,  this  question 


40 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


of  reins  is  the  most  difficult  in  practice.  They 
always  have  a  tendency  to  lengthen,  especially 
with  a  keen  horse,  and  very  often  it  is  not  possible 


Sketch  No 


When  your  horse  makes  his  playful  buck,  you  will  find  you 
will  have  no  difficulty  in  remaining  properly  placed  in  the  saddle. 

to  shorten  them  in  time.  Sometimes  we  are  too 
careless.  We  know  that  we  are  not  properly 
placed,  and  we  allow  the  horse  to  make  his  jump. 
But  then  w^e  also  know  what  the  result  will  be, 
and  it  is  on  those  occasions  that  we  are  not  willing 


THE  LENGTH  OF  THE  REINS 


41 


to  be  photographed.  But  mistakes  such  as  these 
are  not  due  to  ignorance  or  inability,  but  either 
to  a  natural  indolence,  or  to  it  being  sometimes 
inadvisable  to  stop  the  horse,  turn  round  and  face 
the  obstacle  again,  after  we  have  got  into  the 
correct  position  by  shortening  our  reins. 


Sketch  No.  11 

This  drawing  is  of  a  man  approaching  a  fence.     The  length 
of  his  reins  should  be  noted. 


Remember  it  is  always  easy  to  lengthen  when 
necessity  demands  it.  But  to  shorten  them,  at 
the  moment  we  want  to,  is  often  an  impossibility. 

The  next  three  sketches  show  clearly  what  the 
length  of  rein  should  be  when  approaching,  jump- 
ing and  landing  over  a  fence,  and  it  should  be 


42 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


particularly  noted  that  they  are  all  the  same.  Once 
the  principle  is  grasped,  there  is  nothing  more  to 
do  than  to  put  it  into^practice. 


Sketch  No.  12 

This  is  the  correct  attitude  when  jumping  the  fence. 

Note  the  length  of  his  reins,  which  are  the  same  as  when 
approaching  the  fence,  and  also  note  that  the  horse  has  his  head 
perfectly  free. 

Also  that  the  rider's  knees  are  "pointed,"  and  that  the  stirrup 
leathers  are  perpendicular. 


The  reins  should  be  the  same  length  when  landing 
as  when  approachmg  a  fence.     The  reason  for  this 


THE   LENGTH   OF   THE   REINS 


43 


is  that  directly  the  horse's  hind  legs  reach  the 
ground  he  raises  his  forehand,  and  as  he  does  so, 
unless  the  reins  are  the  same  length  as  when 
approaching  the  fence,  the  horse  is  completely  out 


Sketch  No.  13 

The  position  on  landing.  Note  that  the  reins  are  the  same 
length  as  before,  so  that  the  rider  is  in  a  position  to  resume  his 
normal  seat  directly  the  horse's  hind  legs  touch  the  ground. 
The  knee  is  still  "pointed,"  and  the  stirrup  leather  is  still 
perpendicular,  because  the  horse  has  not  yet  landed,  and  con- 
sequently the  force  of  impact  has  not  come  into  play.  The 
horse  also  has  complete  freedom  of  the  head. 


of  control  until  the  rider  is  able  to  "  wind  up  " 
his  reins,  and  assume  a  normal  position  once  more. 
The  next  sketch  (No.  14)  shows  the  attitude 
most  steeplechase  riders  assume  when  landing  over 
a  fence,  and  the  following  one  (No.  15)  the  position 
advocated  in  most  books  as  the  approved  method 


44 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


in  the  hunting  field.  With  reference  to  the  length 
of  rein  only,  both  have  the  same  fault.  There  will 
be,  at  least,  two  strides  before  the  rider  has  adjusted 


Sketch  No.  14. 

This  is  the  position  too  often  adopted  by  our  jockeys  (and 
hunting  men  as  well)  when  landing. 

The  rider  is  nothing  but  a  passenger,  and  when  the  horse 
lands,  he  has  no  control  over  him  at  this  moment  until  he 
has  recollected  himself  and  his  reins. 

Also,  as  his  legs  are  straight  out,  the  jar  of  impact  has  nothing 
to  absorb  it,  and  he  will  be  thrown  out  of  the  saddle  to  a  certain 
extent,  when  the  horse's  fore  feet  touch  the  ground. 

his  balance  and  collected  his  reins,  and  in  those 
two  strides  much  may  happen.  In  riding  a  point-to- 
point  race,  for  example,  on  the  far  side  of  the  fence 
there  might  be  some  cart  ruts,  or  boggy  ground, 


THE   LENGTH   OF  THE   REINS         45 

or  some  small  grip  or  other,  and  the  rider  could 
not  only  give  his  mount  no  assistance,  but  from 


Sketch  No.  15 

This  is  the  old  approved  hunting  style.  It  is  much  better 
than  the  position  in  sketch  No.  14,  because  the  knee  is  pointed, 
and  the  jar  of  impact  is  absorbed  by  the  muscles  of  the  knee. 
But  through  having  thrown  his  body  back  his  reins  are  much 
too  long,  and  he  will  not  be  able  to  resimae  riding  imtil  he  has 
got  his  body  forward  again,  and  gathered  up  his  reins. 

Also  note  that  although  the  body  is  back  it  in  no  way  relieves 
the  jar  of  impact  on  the  forelegs.  The  line  of  the  force  of  impact 
is  shown  by  the  arrows,  and  it  can  be  seen  that  the  body  is  now 
so  placed  as  to  concentrate  the  whole  weight  on  to  them. 

his  position  he  would  actually  be  a  hindrance  to 
him  as  his  horse  was  attempting  to  get  out  of 


46  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

the  unexpected  difficulty.  But  look  back  for  a 
moment  to  the  other  drawing  (No.  13)  of  the  rider 
landing  correctly,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  he  is  in  a 
position  to  help  his  horse  immediately,  no  matter 
what  happens. 

Directly  we  lengthen  our  reins  we  lose  control, 
and  we  must  lengthen  our  reins  if  we  lean  the  body 
back  on  landing  over  a  fence.  Our  object  should 
be  to  keep  our  reins  at  that  length  which  alone 
gives  control,  and  to  keep  them  at  that  length 
until  different  conditions  prevail. 

So  that  when  training  the  young  horseman  it  is 
not  enough  to  say  "  Prepare  to  trot  "  to  w^arn  him 
to  shorten  his  reins,  but  to  this  should  be  added 
"  Prepare  to  jump,"  when  he  should  be  instructed 
to  shorten  his  reins  still  further,  until  his  hands  are 
alongside  his  horse's  neck  in  a  similar  position  to 
that  shown  in  picture  No.  11.  This  is  the  only 
way  to  insure  the  correct  position  of  the  body  being 
maintained,  but  as  this  chapter  is  on  reins,  I  will 
defer  discussing  the  position  of  the  body  imtil 
the  next  chapter. 

When  riding  keen  and  excitable  horses,  who 
often  snatch  at  the  bridle,  or  "  yaw,"  or,  generally, 
do  those  things  which  make  the  reins  slip  through 
one's  fingers,  I  have  found  it  most  helpful  to  have 
a  special  bridle  made  with  very  short  reins.  I 
make  them  short  enough  so  as  to  be  able,  when 
cantering,  and  when  the  horse  is  "  bridling,"  to  be 
able  to  hold  them  in  the  palm  of  the  hand  without 
any  "  slack,"  and  yet  be  able  to  have  a  comfort- 
able "  feel "  on  the  horse's  mouth.     When  jumping, 


THE   LENGTH   OF   THE   REINS         47 

this  is  especially  a  convenience,  because  should 
the  horse  snatch  at  the  bridle  on  approaching  the 
fence,  one  can,  if  necessary,  let  the  reins  go  en- 
tirely, as  they  can  be  immediately  picked  up 
again  without  the  slightest  trouble.  This  practice 
has  much  in  its  favour.  It  prevents  the  reins 
being  too  long  at  any  moment ;  so  that  the  body 
can  be  got  forward  whenever  desired,  causing 
less  hkelihood  of  being  "  left  behind."  It  helps 
the  muscles  of  the  fingers  when  riding  horses 
that  "  take  hold  "  a  bit,  because  there  is  no  slack 
to  consider,  and  it  is  impossible  for  the  reins  to 
slip.  One  can  ride  equally  well  holding  the  reins 
in  the  usual  way,  or  they  can  be  placed  in  the 
palm  of  the  hand  without  using  the  fingers  at  all ; 
and  when  a  horse  is  cantering  collectedly  and  brid- 
ling well,  the  horse  can  be  controlled,  if  so  desired, 
by  even  balancing  the  reins  on  the  end  of  one 
finger.  It  is  an  extremely  useful  little  "  tip  "  for 
all  riding-school  work,  and  I  can  strongly  recom- 
mend it  to  those  who  have  not  tried  it.  Not  only 
for  work  in  the  riding  school,  but  it  is  very  useful 
indeed  at  polo.  Having  no  slack  to  bother  about 
(which  sometimes  gets  mixed  up  with  the  stick), 
it  is  a  great  rest  to  one's  fingers.  To  reach  a  ball 
some  distance  away,  one  can  if  need  be  drop  the 
reins  altogether,  and  if  one's  fingers  are  tired,  one 
can  even  control  the  pony  very  effectively  by  using 
the  forearm  instead  of  the  hand. 

Unless  specially  ordered,  saddlers  make  the 
reins  of  ordinary  bridles  too  long.  The  length  to 
which  they  are  all  cut  was  worked  out  as  correct 


48  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

when  the  body  was  thro"WTi  back  at  every  fence. 
But  for  those  of  us  who  have  decided  not  to  lean 
back  when  landing  over  a  fence  they  are  unneces- 
sarily long,  and  I  think  it  will  be  found  generally 
more  comfortable  for  ordinary  work,  hunting,  etc., 
if  they  are  shortened  by  about  a  foot.  If  we  ride 
according  to  modern  principles,  it  will  be  found 
we  never  require  the  full  length,  or,  indeed,  any- 
thing like  it,  and  the  less  slack  there  is,  to  get 
imder  our  knees,  or  work  in  under  the  saddle,  the 
better. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  keeping  our  reins  the 
proper  length  is  that  unless  horses  "  bridle  "  well, 
they  require  great  length  of  rein  when  walking, 
and  also  when  trotting,  if  they  (as  many  do)  trot 
with  their  noses  stuck  out.  So  that  this  gives  us 
another  reason  why  we  should  teach  our  hunters 
to  bridle  whenever  possible.  There  are,  of  course, 
many  horses  with  bad  mouths  and  bad  necks  who 
can  never  be  got  to  bridle  properly.  But  that  is 
a  matter  which  can't  be  helped  as  long  as  one 
has  to  ride  horses  of  that  description.  If  a  horse 
is  bridling  properly  at  the  walk  the  requisite 
shortening  of  the  reins  is  a  simple  matter,  and  if 
he  should  happen  to  shy  suddenly,  or  give  any 
other  unexpected  display,  the  reins,  if  not  quite 
short  enough,  are  sufficiently  so  for  the  dealing 
with  the  matter  in  most  cases. 

Another  reason  why  riders  often  have  their  reins 
too  long  is  because  it  is  often  inconvenient  and 
imcomfortable  to  have  them  the  proper  length. 
This   is    particularly   noticeable    when    riders   are 


THE   LENGTH   OF  THE   REINS  49 

forming  up  for  the  start  of  a  polo  match.  Just 
as  one's  stirrups  feel  too  short  when  the  horse  is 
comparatively  stationary,  so  do  the  reins,  when 
held  at  the  proper  length  for  galloping  and  jump- 
ing, also  feel  much  too  short.  But  as  it  is  necessary 
to  be  in  the  "  anticipatory  "  length  for  one's  legs, 
so  is  it  also  necessary  to  be  similarly  placed  in 
reference  to  one's  hands. 

A  rider  likes  to  look  "  at  home  "  in  the  saddle, 
especially  when  his  friends  are  near,  sitting  upright, 
and  in  a  position  to  be  "  snapshotted." 

If  his  reins  are  the  proper  length,  his  body  is 
leaning  forward  and  his  hands  are  on  each  side 
of  the  withers.  It  looks  awkward  and  feels  awk- 
ward, and  gives  the  appearance  of  "  nervousness." 
But  that  can't  be  helped.  We  must  be  in  a  pre- 
paratory position,  just  as  a  boxer  is  before  the 
opening  blow  is  struck.  With  the  rider  this  means 
short  stirrups,  short  reins ;  with  the  boxer  it  is 
hands  and  body  forward,  and  knees  bent.  They 
are  both  the  same  only  differently  expressed,  both 
are  prepared  for  coming  events,  and  both  are  right. 
The  principle  is  simple  and  obvious,  but  it  has  to 
be  explained  to  be  understood. 

As  with  the  stirrups,  the  question  must  be 
answered  as  to  how  the  rider  is  to  know  whether 
he  is  riding  with  his  reins  the  right  length  or  not, 
and  the  reply  is  similar.  The  reins  should  be  as 
long  as  possible,  after  one  is  assured  that  they  are 
short  enough  to  enable  the  body  to  be  thrown  as 
far  forward  as  probable  circumstances  demand. 
If  we  are  only  trotting  they  can  be  fairly  long, 


50  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

but  if  we  are  going  to  race  over  fences  they  must 
be  quite  short,  and  if  we  are  going  to  jump  a 
six-foot  rail  in  the  show-ring,  they  must  be  shorter 
still.  It  must  be  remembered  that  all  this  shorten- 
ing must  be  done  before  we  begin.  There  is  seldom 
time  or  opportunity  for  any  shortening,  once  the 
horse  is  in  motion. 

I  have  sometimes  ridden  with  plaited  reins, 
which  are  supposed  to  have  the  advantage  of 
conferring  a  better  grip  for  holding  pulling  horses. 
This  is  surely  unsound,  because  although  they 
may  help  a  grip  when  one's  fingers  are  ap- 
proaching exhaustion,  they  certainly  make  it 
more  difficult  to  shorten  the  reins,  which  is  a 
matter  of  much  greater  importance,  and  even  with 
ordinary  reins  one  of  very  considerable  difficulty. 
When  riding  excitable  horses  with  light  mouths, 
it  is  astonishingly  difficult  to  shorten  without 
informing  them  of  what  is  being  done.  It  requires 
a  great  deal  of  experience,  guile  and  dexterity, 
and  if  on  the  top  of  that  is  added  the  extra  burden 
of  handling  plaits,  the  difficulties  become  insur- 
mountable. 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE  BODY 

As  the  length  of  the  stirrup  and  the  length  of 
the  reins  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  position 
of  the  body,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  discuss 
this  without  a  certain  amount  of  repetition. 
I  have  already  shown  how  it  is  necessary  for 
the  body  to  be  forward  on  landing  in  order  to 
avoid  the  necessity  of  letting  one's  reins  out. 
But  I  now  want  to  discuss  this  from  another 
standpoint. 

It  is,  firstly,  necessary  from  the  horse's  point 
of  view.  The  part  of  his  body  that  he  requires 
to  have  free  when  jumping  is  his  loins.  Weight  on 
that  portion  of  his  body  interferes  with  his  take  off, 
and  it  interferes  with  his  landing. 

In  the  canter  or  gallop,  the  rider's  body 
should  be  so  placed  that  as  the  horse's  hind  legs 
throw  off  for  each  stride,  the  thrust  acts  as  a 
"  tap  "  upon  the  body  and  so  keeps  it  constantly 
going  with  the  horse.  I  will  illustrate  my 
meaning. 

Take  a  man  practising  boxing  with  a  punchball. 
It  entirely  depends  upon  when  he  hits  that  ball 
as  to  how  far  it  will  go  and  what  strength  will  be 

51 


52  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

required.  If  he  waits  until  it  has  reached  its 
limit  and  then  hits  it,  a  comparatively  gentle  tap 
will  drive  it  at  great  speed  in  the  opposite  direction, 
but  if  his  next  blow  isn't  well  timed,  then  a 
much  stronger  blow  will  not  send  it  so  far  as  his 
first  effort.  Or  take  a  boy  trundling  a  hoop. 
Once  he  has  got  it  running  nicely,  very  gentle, 
well-placed  taps  will  keep  the  hoop  rolling  smoothly 
and  evenly,  and  the  faster  he  goes  the  lighter  will 
be  the  taps  required.  So  it  is  in  riding.  When 
galloping,  let  us  imagine  the  back  of  the  saddle 
to  be  the  fist  of  the  boxer  punching  the  ball,  and 
one's  own  body  to  be  the  punchball.  (Remember 
our  body  has  become  absorbed  in  the  motion  of  the 
horse,  and  is  itself  in  motion.)  Now,  as  long  as  the 
action  of  the  horse's  hind  quarters  gives  us  little 
gentle  pats  (like  the  boxer  who  has  well  timed 
his  blows  on  the  ball)  then  we  are  rightly  placed 
in  the  saddle,  but  directly  we  feel  any  bump,  or 
jar,  then  we  know  that  there  must  be  something 
wrong. 

Remember  the  position  I  am  assuming  the  rider 
to  be  in.  Not  the  "old  gentleman's"  cantering 
seat,  where  the  body  is  leaning  back,  and  the 
entire  weight  of  the  rider  is  on  the  seat  of  the 
saddle,  but  when  the  weight  is  taken  up  on  the 
stirrup  irons,  and  the  body  is  poised  as  if  about  to 
make  a  standing  jump.  It  is  then  we  shall  find  this 
gentle  lift  imparted  by  the  horse  every  stride  he 
takes,  and  once  the  principle  is  realized,  it  is  a 
simple  matter  to  know  whether  the  horse  is  patting 
our  bodies  along,  or  whether  he  has  to  bang  them 


THE   POSITION   OF  THE   BODY        53 

along,  or  whether  he  is  carrying  the  whole  body 
entirely. 

As  I  have  just  pointed  out,  the  faster  the  pace 
the  less  "tap"  is  necessary  (like  the  punchball), 
and  it  has  been  worked  out  by  some  mathema- 
ticians that  the  faster  the  pace  of  the  horse,  the 
lighter  the  rider  becomes  in  the  saddle.  They  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that  if  a  horse  could  be  found  to 
gallop  800  miles  an  hour,  that  the  rider's  weight 
would  have  dissolved  itself  into  infinity.  As  I  am 
not  a  mathematician  I  will  not  dispute  the  point, 
and  as  I  have  never  ridden  a  horse  at  800  miles 
an  hour,  I  have  never  experienced  a  sensation 
which  must  be  not  without  its  novelty,  and  so  I 
must  leave  it  at  that.  The  point,  however,  is  of 
importance,  and  that  is,  that  the  body  must 
always  be  travelling  with  the  horse,  patted  like 
a  punchball,  and  this  position  can  only  be  at- 
tained by  having  short  reins  and  properly  adjusted 
stirrups. 

As  this  applies  when  galloping  along  the  flat,  it 
applies  still  more  when  jumping.  As  the  horse 
takes  off,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  him 
whether  he  has  to  carry  the  whole  weight  of  the 
rider's  body  on  his  loins,  or  whether  he  merely 
has  to  "  pat  "  it  over.  It  is  this  point  that  makes 
all  the  difference  to  a  horse's  jumping.  It  decides 
whether  he  will  clear  a  rail  or  knock  it  down, 
whether  he  will  get  over  brilliantly  or  bungle  it. 
Make  no  mistake,  faults  are  nearly  always  those  of 
the  rider  and  not  of  the  horse.  Provided  the  ground 
on  taking  off    is    firm,  a    horse   can   judge   with 


54  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

wonderful  accuracy  the  amount  of  effort  that  is 
necessary  to  carry  him  over  an  obstacle.  Just  the 
same  way  as  we  ourselves  can  gauge  how  much 
effort  is  necessary  for  us  to  jump  over  a  chair. 
But  the  horse  cannot  judge  the  inefficiency  of  his 
rider.  If  there  is  one  rule  I  would  like  to  give 
all  embryo  horsemen,  it  would  be,  "  Blame  your- 
self, don't  blame  the  horse."  Unless  the  rider 
times  the  thrust  very  perfectly,  then  the  tap 
becomes  a  hit,  and  the  accuracy  of  the  jump  is 
an  impossibility. 

When  horses  rap  a  rail  is  not  because  they  are 
careless,  or  because  they  like  rapping  them,  but 
very  often  because  the  rider  is  not  in  time  with  his 
mount.  It  is  a  difficult  art,  and  not  even  our  best 
riders  can  be  certain  of  perfect  accuracy  every  time ; 
but  once  we  understand  what  is  wanted,  then  we  can 
assuredly  improve  much  more  quickly  than  if  we 
are  groping  in  the  dark,  imcertain  of  what  is  really 
required. 

Not  long  ago  I  was  able  to  give  a  very  practical 
and  pleasing  demonstration  of  these  principles, 
an  opportunity  that  occurs  but  seldom.  I  was 
out  hacking  on  a  well-known  jumping  mare,  and 
on  coming  to  a  rail  in  a  field,  put  her  over  it.  To 
my  surprise  she  rapped  it  hard,  and  so  I  put  her 
at  it  three  or  four  times.  Each  time  she  jumped 
it  badly.  A  friend  of  mine  who  was  looking  on 
suggested  that  he  should  stand  by  the  fence  and 
hit  her  as  she  was  about  to  jump,  but  this  I  refused 
to  let  him  do.  Now  the  ground  was  slightly 
rising,  and  it  had  just  occurred  to  me  what  might 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE  BODY        55 

have  been  the  possible  trouble.  I  shortened  my 
stirrups  one  hole  and  then  put  her  at  the  rail,  and 
she  immediately  cleared  it  with  six  inches  to 
spare. 

It  was  a  great  education  to  my  friend,  who 
had  not  heard  of  such  methods  before,  and,  I 
am  glad  to  say,  it  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
him. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  what  the  reasons 
were.  I  was  jumping  slightly  uphill,  so  that  it  was 
more  difficult  to  throw  one's  body  forward,  and 
consequently  each  time  she  rapped  the  rail  she 
had  to  carry  the  weight  of  my  body  (but  only  to 
a  certain  extent,  because  I  was  not  wholly  back), 
and  so  was  unable  to  quite  clear  the  obstacle. 
But  directly  I  shortened  my  stirrups  I  was  able  to 
lean  more  forward,  and  then  when  the  mare  jumped 
her  loins  were  free,  and  she  was  able  to  clear  the 
obstacle  in  her  own  very  beautiful  style,  with  plenty 
to  spare.  Now,  I  submit,  that  many  men,  who 
have  lived  with  horses  all  their  lives,  would,  under 
such  circumstances,  have  blamed  the  horse,  and 
probably  got  out  the  whip  and  started  punishment. 
Here  was,  indeed,  a  great  occasion  for  ocular 
and  practical  demonstration.  I  was  able  to  show 
clearly  and  conclusively  an  instance  where  we 
should  first  "  pull  the  beam  out  of  our  own  eye." 
So  once  more  I  repeat,  blame  yourself  first,  before 
you  blame  the  horse. 

So  far  in  this  chapter  I  have  only  emphasized 
the  importance  of  the  body  being  forward  while 
trotting,   galloping  and  on  the  approach  to  the 


56  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

fence.  I  want  now  to  touch  upon  landing  after 
having  jumped. 

My  first  object  is  to  remove  an  erroneous  idea 
that  is  very  prevalent  among  most  riding  men. 
It  is  supposed  that  by  leaning  back,  weight  is 
taken  off  the  horse's  fore  legs.  This  is  incorrect, 
as  a  glance  back  at  No.  15  will  show. 

From  this  sketch  it  can  be  seen  quite  clearly 
that  far  from  taking  any  weight  off  the  horse's 
forehand,  the  whole  body  is  on  the  direct  line,  so 
that  we  can  dismiss  that  theory  at  once  as  obviously 
false. 

It  not  only  does  not  take  any  weight  off  the 
forehand,  but  it  places  pressure  upon  the  one  place 
that  should  be  free,  which  is  the  loins,  and  if  the 
action  of  the  horse  is  watched  very  closely  the 
effect  will  be  noticed.  If  the  hind  quarters  are 
left  free  from  all  extraneous  pressure,  the  hind 
feet  perform  a  true  parabola,  and  land  on  the 
ground  an  appreciable  time  after  the  front  legs; 
they  swing  perfectly  true,  and  touch  the  ground 
in  the  proper  position  for  the  horse  to  strike 
off  for  his  next  stride.  But  if  the  body  is 
thrown  back  directly  the  culminating  point  has 
been  reached,  then  the  parabola  of  the  hind 
legs  become  obloid.  The  horse  brings  his  hind 
quarters  down  too  soon,  and  in  consequence 
he  is  not  then  in  a  position  to  strike  off  for 
his  next  stride,  and  has  to  adjust  his  balance 
accordingly. 

The  following  diagrams  may  bring  this  out  more 
clearly. 


THE   POSITION  OF  THE  BODY 


57 


The  dotted  lines  show  the  natural  curves  of  a 
horse's  fore  and  hind  feet. 


•iir-. 


H     F 


H    F 


Diagram  V 


The  hind  feet  (on  account  of  the  "throw" 
which  comes  from  them)  often  describe  a  slightly 
higher  parabola  than  the  fore  feet,  and  should, 
therefore,  clear  the  obstacle  with  a  little  more  to 
spare,  and  they  should  land  the  same  distance 
away  from  the  fore  feet  as  they  originally  started 
from.  So  that  in  the  diagram  the  lines  H  F 
should  be  equilateral. 


.".'^Wy^z 


U-::-^. 


H 


H 


Diagram  VI 


Diagram   VI  shows  the  effect  of  weight  being 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  loins,  and  it  will  be 


58  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

observed  that  the  flight  of  the  hind  legs  is  not 
higher  than  that  of  the  fore  legs,  and  that  they 
are  suddenly  forced  downwards ;  and  here  it  will 
be  seen  also  that  the  line  H  F  on  landing  is 
greater  than  the  line  H  F  on  taking  off,  which 
demonstrates  the  point  that  in  this  instance  the 
horse  has  landed  less  well  balanced  than  when 
taking  off. 

If  the  body  is  kept  back  the  whole  time,  then 
the  horse  is  forced  to  drag  his  hind  legs,  and  they 
perform  then  a  parabola  less  high  than  that  of  the 
fore.  (For  the  sake  of  clearness  I  have  shown 
only  one  fore  and  hind  leg  and  have  exaggerated 
the  parabolas,  so  as  to  keep  the  dotted  lines  as 
separate  as  possible.)  So  that  we  can  see,  if  the 
truth  of  these  diagrams  are  admitted,  that  leaning 
back  on  landing  has  the  following  disadvantages  : — 

(1)  It  puts  pressure  upon  the  horse's  loins  at 
the  very  moment  he  should  be  free. 

(2)  It  interferes  with  the  lifting  power  of  the 
hind  quarters. 

(3)  It  prevents  a  horse  landing  properly  balanced. 

(4)  It  necessitates  the  rider  lengthening  his  reins. 

(5)  It  makes  him  unable  to  collect  the  horse 
until  he  has  regathered  them,  and  should  any 
unexpected  obstacle  appear  he  is  not  in  a  position 
to  negotiate  it. 

(6)  It  in  no  way  lessens  the  strain  upon  the  fore 
feet  on  landing. 

(7)  Finally,  if  the  horse  should  peck  as  he  lands, 
on  account  of  the  body  being  already  back  and 
the  reins  lengthened,  the  rider  has  used  his  "  last 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE   BODY        59 

cartridge,"  has  no  further  resources,  and  can  only- 
hope  for  the  best. 

Consequently  I  will  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  there 
are  no  circumstances  under  which  it  is  right  to  throw 
the  body  back,  although  I  willingly  admit  that  we 
often  have  to,  because  we  have  sometimes  to  rectify 
mistakes  which  we  have  made  in  the  best  way  we 
can.  Approaching  a  fence  with  the  reins  too 
long  is  the  most  usual  error,  which  once  made 
cannot  be  rectified  until  after  the  leap  has  been 
completed. 

People  may  say  that  if  a  horse  pecks  very  badly 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  lean  back  to  prevent 
falling  off.  This  is  an  assertion  I  cannot  accept. 
It  is  not  necessary,  not  even  when  steeplechasing. 
If  the  whole  shock  of  landing  has  been  absorbed 
by  the  knee  joint,  as  I  have  previously  explained, 
any  further  inclination  to  fall  over  the  horse's 
head  can  be  overcome  by  resting  both  hands  on 
his  neck,  and  then,  as  the  horse  recovers  from  his 
stumble,  the  body  can  be  raised  and  the  rider  is 
in  a  position  to  collect  his  mount  at  the  very 
moment  he  requires  collecting. 

An  ounce  of  practice  is  worth  a  ton  of  theory, 
so  I  will  tell  my  readers  that  I  have  seen  a  man 
who  was  sitting  his  horse  with  his  body  well  for- 
ward, ride  at  a  high  post  and  rails.  The  horse 
pecked  so  badly  on  landing  that  his  ears  were 
actually  in  the  mud.  But  the  rider  never  moved 
in  the  saddle,  collected  him  as  easily  as  if  nothing 
had  occurred,  and  was  on  and  away  without  any 
difficulty.     Such   a   feat    could  never   have   been 


60 


HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 


accomplished  unless  the  rider  had  been  perfectly 
balanced,  with  both  reins  and  stirrups  of  the  proper 
length. 
The  next  sketch  is  a  position  which  we  have  all 


'V> 


^N 


Sketch  No.  16 

This  is  a  position  which  all  of  us  have  been  in  some  time  or 
another.  It  is  due  to  the  body  not  having  been  sufficiently  far 
forward  as  the  horse  took  off.  So  that  the  rider  has  been  "  left 
behind."  In  order  to  save  the  situation  he  has  hung  on  to  the 
reins,  and  the  horse  has  had  a  bad  jab  in  the  mouth.  The  result 
is  that  he  has  thrown  up  his  head,  which  has  caused  his  hind 
legs  to  actually  land  before  his  fore  legs,  with  the  sad  conse- 
quences I  have  here  tried  to  depict. 

seen  frequently.  It  is  of  a  horse  landing  over  a 
fence  with  his  hind  legs  reaching  the  ground  before 
his  front  legs.  This  phenomenon  occurs  because 
the  rider  is  sitting  back,  and  has  also  jabbed  his 


THE   POSITION  OF  THE  BODY        61 

horse  in  the  mouth.  By  leaning  back  he  has 
depressed  the  hind  quarters,  by  jabbing  he  has 
raised  the  forehand,  so  that  we  arrive  at  an  exactly 
converse  result  than  that  which  should  be  obtained 
in  true  horsemanship.  The  rule  for  which  is  that 
directly  a  horse  takes  off,  his  head  should  always 
be  free,  and  that  the  body  should  be  forward. 
Head  free,  loins  free,  are  the  key  words. 

As  I  have  said,  I  do  not  exclude  steeple  chasing. 
Take  up  any  picture  paper  during  the  racing 
season,  and  see  what  extraordinary  positions  the 
jockeys  get  themselves  into. 

Sketch  No.  14  shows  the  most  usual  position. 
It  is  not  exaggerated,  as  I  am  sure  my  readers  will 
admit.  And  that  any  man  who  aspires  to  be  an 
expert  rider  should  get  into  such  positions  shows 
that  we  are  still  a  long  way  from  the  ''  path  of 
grace." 

Not  only  do  they  get  themselves  into  this  posi- 
tion when  landing,  but  also  before  the  horse  has 
commenced  to  turn.  They  lean  back  when  ap- 
proaching the  fence,  and  having  got  themselves 
into  this  initially  wrong  position,  it  is  impossible 
to  rectify  it  after  the  horse  has  taken  off,  because 
they  are  "  behind  their  w^ork  "  from  the  beginning. 
It  is  like  a  man  leaning  back  in  the  tube  just  as  the 
train  is  about  to  start.  He  would  in  such  a  case 
have  to  hang  on  pretty  hard  to  the  straps  to  prevent 
falling,  but  no  whit  harder  than  he  does  on  to  the 
reins  to  avert  a  similar  disaster  when  riding. 

Sketch  No.  17  shows  the  position.  Here  the 
jockey  is  ''  strap-hanging"  with  a  vengeance,  and 


62 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


yet  how  common  it  is  to  see  this  position  between 
the  flags.  These  are  faults  that  must  be  eradi- 
cated before  we  can  consider  ourselves  a  nation  of 
horsemen. 

There  is  one  occasion  when  it  is  impossible  to 


This  position  is  only  too  common  in  steeplechasing.  Here  the 
body  has  been  thrown  back  actually  before  the  horse  took  off. 
The  rider  is  now  being  pulled  over  the  fence  by  his  reins. 

This  is  strap-hanging,  not  riding,  and  has  nothing  to  reconunend 
it  in  any  particular. 


prevent  having  one's  body  back.  It  is  when  on 
approaching  a  fence,  the  horse  takes  off  a  stride 
too  soon,  or,  at  any  rate,  a  stride  sooner  than  the 
rider  expects.  This  occurs  fairly  frequently  in 
steeplechasing  when  the  horse  is  fresh,  and  more 
rarely  in  the  slower  pacers  of  the  hunting  field, 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE   BODY        63 

but  with  careful  training  it  can  be  prevented  to  a 
very  great  extent. 

When  it  does  happen  it  is  impossible  to  pre- 
vent being  "  left  behind."  The  reason  is,  that 
we  should  only  throw  our  bodies  forward  just 
on   the    moment   of   the   expected   thrust,    or  in 


Sketch  No.  18 

The  correct  position  for  landing  over  a  fence  in  steeplechasing. 
Note  that  there  is  no  weight  on  the  horse's  loins,  and  his  head 
is  absolutely  free,  also  that  the  reins  are  the  right  length  to 
continue  controlling  the  horse,  directly  he  has  landed. 

The  jar  of  impact  is  absorbed  in  the  muscles  of  the  knee  joint. 


other  words,  as  the  horse's  hind  legs  meet  the 
ground  just  before  he  "  takes  off."  Consequently 
if  he  "takes  off"  unexpectedly,  the  thrust  has 
occurred  before  our  bodies  are  in  a  position  to 
meet  it,  and  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  the  body 
to  be  left  behind,  or,  what  is  apparently  "  leaning 
back."     It  is  not  leaning  back  at  all  in  reality, 


64 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


because  leaning  suggests  a  movement  of  volition. 
In  this  case  it  is  not  only  involuntary,  it  is  forced 
upon  one,  and  therefore  the  expression  "  left 
behind"  is  more  suitable  than  that  of  "leaning 


Should  the  horse  peck  on  landing,  it  is  essential  that  the  rider 
should  let  the  horse  have  complete  freedom  of  the  head  and 
loins.  Owing  to  the  "  pointed  knee  "  the  shock  of  impact  has 
been  absorbed  by  the  knee  joint,  and  any  tendency  that  there 
may  be  for  the  body  still  to  go  forward  can  be  restrained  by 
the  hands  on  the  horse's  neck. 


back."  But  when  this  occurs,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  knees  should  not  remain  "  pointed,"  and 
there  is  no  occasion  in  riding  when  the  lower  part 
of  the  leg  should  not  be  kept  back.  If  I  were 
judging  horsemanship  I  should  not  take  marks  off 


THE   POSITION  OF   THE  BODY        65 

for  a  rider  being  "  left  behind  "  under  such  a  cir- 
cumstance, but  did  he  not  keep  his  knees  pointed 
all  the  time  I  should  most  certainly  deduct  marks 
for  style. 

There  is  another  occasion  which  has  the  appear- 


;^  jl 


Sketch  No.  20 

This  sketch  is  intended  to  represent  the  extreme  position  at 
which  a  jockey  can  remain  in  the  saddle.  The  position  is  similar, 
though  more  acute,  to  the  rider  in  the  preceding  sketch.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  his  attitude  is  nearly  identical  with  that 
of  the  man  I  have  depicted  who  is  supposed  to  have  made  a 
big  jump  ofi  his  feet  across  a  drain,  and  who  has  slipped  upon 
landing.  Had  this  man's  body  not  been  well  forward  through- 
out the  course  of  his  leap,  he  would  have  fallen  backwards  into 
the  water. 

I  can  only  ask  my  readers  to  imagine  where  the  jockey  would 
be,  were  he  leaning  back  in  a  situation  such  as  this.  He  would 
not  have  been  able  to  keep  his  knee  "  pointed,"  and  the  shock 
of  impact  would,  consequently,  have  driven  him  clean  out  of 
the  saddle. 


ance  of  bad  horsemanship,  which  is  not  really  so. 
When  putting  a  "  nappy "  horse  at  a  fence,  it 
occasionally  happens  that  he  gives  the  rider  all  the 
"  feel  "  and  assurance  that  he  is  going  to  jump, 


66 


HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 


but  as  he  is  "  asked  "  to  take  off — which  means 
that  the  rider  gives  him  his  head  and  throws  his 


^?:iv6.- 


Sketch  No.  21 

In  this  sketch  my  endeavour  is  to  show  the  correct  position 
for  negotiating  a  big  fence  at  which  considerable  pace  is  required. 
Here  the  horse  has  taken  off  well  away  from  the  rails,  and  the 
rider  in  order  to  insure  freedom  to  the  horse  of  both  head  and 
loin,  has  thrown  his  body  forward  as  far  as  possible.  Should 
there  be  a  "  peck  "  on  landing,  it  is  a  simple  matter  for  him  to 
adopt  the  attitude  of  the  rider  in  sketch  No.  19.  There  will  be 
but  little  tendency  to  fall  over  his  horse's  head,  provided  he 
keeps  his  knees  "  pointed." 

body  forward — he  may  stop  instantly.  On  an 
occasion  such  as  this,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
remain  in  the  saddle.     The  only  thing  to  do  is  to 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE   BODY 


67 


bury  one's  knuckles  into  the  horse's  back,  and  press 
the  body  back  as  strongly  as  possible.     No  matter 


This  sketch  represents  a  horse  "  pitching  "  as  he  lands.  It 
would  be  similar  to  when  landing  over  a  "  drop  "  fence,  or  any- 
other  occasion  when  the  angle  of  descent  is  extreme.  It  should 
be  noted  that  the  rider  has  not  lengthened  his  reins.  If  he  were 
crossing  a  sunken  road  he  would  be  able  to  collect  his  horse  in  a 
moment,  and  his  reins  would  be  of  the  right  length  to  be  able  to 
"  put  "  his  horse  at  the  "  up  "  fence,  without  difficulty. 

how  good  the  rider's  seat  may  be,  a  circumstance 
such  as  this  is  very  disconcerting,  and  it  is  still 
more  so  when  riding  a  bold  horse  which  is  not 
suspected  of  refusing.     I  remember  this  happening 


68  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

to  me  once  when  I  was  asked  to  give  an  exhibition 
jump.  I  was  riding  my  mare  Ozone,  who  is  usually- 
much  too  free  and  bold  at  her  fences.  Just  as  I 
thought  she  was  going  to  jump,  her  eye  caught 
some  object  which  raised  her  suspicions,  and  she 
stopped  dead.  As  the  fence  was  a  fairly  high  one, 
I  had  ridden  her  fairly  fast  at  it,  and,  of  course, 
threw  my  body  well  forward  in  anticipation  of  her 
"  kick  off."  The  result  was  I  found  myself  on 
the  flat  of  my  back,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
the  onlookers,  who,  unfortunately,  happened  to  be 
many. 

But  occasions  such  as  these  are  happily  of  rare 
occurrence,  if  one  is  riding  well-schooled  horses. 
It  is  a  sign  of  bad  training  for  horses  to  refuse,  and 
it  should  be  very  much  less  common  than  it  is. 
Generally  speaking,  a  horse  gives  plenty  of  warning 
of  his  disinclination  to  jump,  and  then  the  catas- 
trophe can  be  easily  avoided.  I  am  only  now 
referring  to  the  considerable  difficulty  there  is  in 
sticking  on  when  it  comes  quite  unexpectedly. 
This  is  the  only  occasion  when  the  "  body  back  '* 
seat  would  come  in  usefully.  But  as  it  would  only 
assist  when  encountering  the  improbable  and  the 
occurrence  is  very  rare,  w^e  needn't  worry  our 
heads  much  about  it. 

It  is  usually  supposed  that  it  takes  many  years 
to  make  a  man  into  a  horseman.  But  I  do  not 
think  this  is  really  the  case.  If  a  young  man  is 
trained  on  the  right  lines,  and  has  the  necessary 
qualifications  in  both  mind  and  body,  I  believe 
that  he  can  be  made  into  a  quite  good  horseman 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE  BODY        69 

in  a  wonderfully  short  space  of  time.  But  first  and 
foremost  his  conformation  must  be  right ;  that  is 
to  say,  he  must  be  able  to  balance  himself  well.  A 
man  who  skates  well,  for  example,  could  soon  be 
made  a  horseman.  Some  men  who  have  long 
backs  in  proportion  to  the  rest  of  their  bodies,  for 
example,  start  riding  under  a  considerable  dis- 
advantage. In  order  to  counteract  the  length  of 
their  body  above  the  saddle,  they  will  find  it  neces- 
sary to  ride  rather  long.  By  riding  long,  they 
cannot  maintain  a  true  balance  in  the  saddle,  and 
so  they  are  between  "  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea." 
But  given  a  naturally  well-balanced  body,  I  do  not 
think  the  mysteries  of  horsemanship  are  nearly  so 
obscure  as  many  people  believe. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  difficulties  have  always 
lain  in  the  past  by  teaching  the  young  idea  to  have 
his  body  back,  and  I  submit  to  my  readers  the 
contention  that  if  they  will  reverse  that  instruction 
and  teach  body  forward,  they  will  find  most  of 
their  perplexities  will  fade  away,  and  that  their 
pupils  will  tumble  to  the  idea  as  easily  as  ducks  to 
water. 

I  will  now  ask  my  readers  to  look  back  to  the 
copy  of  the  photograph  on  page  4,  and  to  make 
their  own  criticisms. 


THE   GRIP 

One  of  the  first  things  that  used  to  happen  to  a 
recruit  when  he  commenced  riding  school  was  that 
he  was  placed  on  a  numnah  and  trotted  round  and 
round  the  school.  The  object  of  this  was  to  teach 
him  to  grip.  It  was  to  develop  his  tailor  muscles, 
and  to  give  him  what  is  called  a  strong  seat.  I 
have  no  doubt  these  lessons  had  their  effect,  because 
in  talking  to  soldiers  I  find  that  they  usually  believe 
that  strength  is  the  first  essential  of  horsemanship. 
For  this  reason  I  believe  such  exercises  to  be 
fundamentally  unsound. 

The  art  of  riding  is  quite  difficult  enough,  and 
we  require  all  the  assistance  we  can  have,  especially 
in  the  early  stages.  The  young  rider  wants  con- 
fidence, and  every  effort  should  be  made  to 
make  him  fond  of  being  on  the  back  of  a  horse. 
Starting  recruits  on  a  numnah  has  precisely  an 
opposite  effect.  If  he  falls  off  (most  rough  riders 
take  good  care  that  he  does)  it  does  not  induce 
confidence,  and  the  discomfort  of  trotting  round 
a  school  without  stiri-ups  most  certainly  does  not 
add  to  his  pleasure.  The  idea  is,  of  course,  that 
it  develops  his  leg  muscles.  But,  like  all  other 
forms  of  callisthenics,  unless  the  exercise  is  carried 

70 


THE   GRIP  71 

out  daily  it  is  of  little,  if  any,  value,  except  for 
growing  lads  ;  and  after  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury's experience  in  a  cavalry  regiment,  a  spectacle 
I  have  yet  to  see  is  that  of  the  rough  riders,  headed 
by  the  riding  master,  trotting  round  the  school 
every  morning  on  numnahs  to  keep  their  muscles 
in  order  !  But  surely  this  should  be  done  if  it  is 
of  the  benefit  assumed  by  its  originators. 

I  object  to  the  practice  for  another  reason.  It 
gives  the  rider  a  wrong  seat.  The  balance  of  the 
body  is  quite  different  to  that  when  riding  with 
stirrups,  the  consequence  being  that  when  the 
stirrups  are  taken  up  the  inclination  is  to  ride  too 
long.  Furthermore,  it  teaches  a  man  a  wrong 
lesson.  He  is  made  to  believe  that  riding  is  an 
effort  of  grip,  and  not  a  question  of  balance. 

The  advocates  of  the  practice  assume  that  it 
teaches  a  man  to  sit  down  in  the  saddle.  Person- 
ally, I  believe  it  has  an  opposite  effect.  When  a 
man  is  not  "sitting  down"  it  is  because  he  is 
gripping.  No  one  can  help  "  sitting  down  "  in  the 
saddle  if  the  legs  are  splayed  out  from  the  horse's 
sides,  and  this  simple  fact  demonstrates  sufficiently 
clearly  that  not  "sitting  down"  is  due  to  an 
unnecessary  grip.  In  fact,  nearly  all  awkwardness 
in  the  saddle  is  caused  by  the  rider  using  muscles 
unnecessarily,  either  in  the  arms,  hands  or  legs. 
So  that  what  we  want  to  teach  is  freedom.  These 
callisthenics  or  muscle  exercises  are  sufficiently 
performed  in  ordinary  riding,  and  there  is  no  fear 
that  they  will  be  used  ine^ectively  provided  the 
balance  of  the  body  is  correct.     That  is  the  main 


72  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

thing.  Riding  is  far  more  a  question  of  equilibrium 
than  of  strength. 

All  students  should  be  taught  that  "  grip  "  is 
only  to  be  used  when  differences  of  opinion  exist 
between  the  horse  and  his  rider.  Thus,  when  a 
horse  is  trying  to  refuse  a  fence  it  is  impossible  to 
hold  him  too  tight.  A  grip  is  necessary  in  all 
eases  of  swerving,  but  in  instances  of  "  pecking" 
when  landing  over  a  fence,  although  the  ordinary 
hold  would  naturally  be  somewhat  increased,  a 
tight  grip  is  not  necessary  provided  the  whole 
shock  has  been  absorbed  in  the  muscles  of  the  knee. 

Position  and  balance  are  what  we  require,  not 
the  muscles  of  a  Hercules  or  the  development  of 
Sandow.  I  notice  very  often  the  condition  of 
riders  after  a  race.  Frequently  they  are  fearfully 
"  blown  "  and  much  exhausted.  We  expect  such 
a  condition  if  the  horse  has  not  gone  kindly,  but 
if  he  has  jumped  freely  and  well,  it  merely  shows 
that  the  rider  has  been  using  an  unnecessary 
amount  of  muscle  throughout  the  race. 

I  am  not  speaking  of  the  effort  necessary  to 
ride  a  hard  finish,  or  to  steady  a  pulling  horse. 
I  am  speaking  of  the  effort  that  is  necessary  to 
ride  a  horse  round  a  steeplechase  course  under 
normal  conditions,  and  if  the  jockey  is  properly 
placed  in  the  saddle,  he  should  be  neither  blown 
nor  exhausted  after  the  event.  The  difference 
between  jockeys  is  much  marked,  and  it  is  a  point 
that  should  be  noted  by  o^vners  and  trainers, 
because  it  tells  the  tale  of  how  they  have  ridden 
their  horses  throughout  the  race. 


THE   GRIP  73 

There  is  one  more  point  upon  which  there  seems 
to  be  a  good  deal  of  dubiety,  and  that  is,  what 
portion  of  our  bodies  produces  the  grip,  and  how 
is  the  grip  effected.  It  is  customary  to  hear  "  the 
grip  of  the  thighs  "  mentioned.  A  man  with  flat 
thighs  is  supposed  to  be  better  fitted  for  riding 
than  a  man  with  round  thighs.  I  must  say  I  find 
this  difficult  to  understand.  Firstly,  we  don't  grip 
with  our  thighs.  We  grip  with  our  knees.  The 
thighs  are  off  the  saddle  as  often  as  not,  except 
when  standing  still  or  walking.  The  thighs  are 
only  the  channel  through  which,  or  by  means  of 
which,  the  knees  are  able  to  grip.  What  is  meant 
by  round  thighs  I  have  no  idea.  If  you  take  the 
shape  of  the  leg  in  reference  to  the  saddle,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  flat  part  of  the  thigh  is  nowhere 
near  the  saddle  at  all.  That  portion  is  actually 
uppermost,  and  the  portion  that  meets  the  saddle 
is  the  part  almost  directly  in  rear — nearly  the 
same  portion,  in  fact,  that  one  sits  upon  when  in  a 
chair. 

I  have  discussed  this  matter  with  the  riding- 
school  staff  on  many  occasions,  who  have  a  great 
deal  of  experience  in  this  matter,  owing  to  the 
number  of  recruits  that  pass  through  their  hands 
in  the  course  of  a  year,  and  the  idea  prevalent 
with  them  is  that  there  are  many  men  with  short, 
round  legs  who  seem  to  have  some  difficulty  in 
getting  their  knees  in  close  to  the  saddle,  and  these 
are  the  men  that  they  call  "  round-thighed."  Well, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  has  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  round  thighs  (otherwise  women  would  have 


74  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

much  more  difficulty  than  they  do).  It  is  merely 
a  matter  of  leg  conformation,  and  is  of  little 
importance,  because  directly  the  rider  takes  his 
weight  off  the  saddle  and  places  it  upon  the 
stirrup  irons,  the  whole  difficulty  fades  away. 
The  only  differences  in  conformation  that  matter 
are  bandy  legs  and  knock  knees.  A  bandy-legged 
man  clings  to  the  horse's  sides  with  greater  facility, 
and  generally  speaking,  is  able  to  keep  his  toes 
in  without  effort.  The  knock-kneed  man  has 
difficulty  in  getting  his  toes  in;  he  is  nearly 
always  the  one  who  has  his  toes  out.  But  when 
sitting  in  the  saddle  at  a  stand  or  when  walk- 
ing casually,  it  is  the  inclination  of  every  one 
to  have  his  knees  away  from  it,  and  it  doesn't 
matter  in  the  least,  because  in  that  position  he 
is  riding  at  ease,  and  the  easier  he  is  (without 
lolling)  when  so  doing,  the  better  for  him  and 
the  horse. 

When  jumping  a  fence  he  should  use  as  little 
muscular  effort  as  possible.  Balance  should  be  our 
first  thought.  A  tight  grip  on  the  horse  just  as  he  is 
about  to  spring  has  the  inclination  to  restrain  the 
freedom  of  his  shoulder  muscles.  There  is  only  one 
man  that  I  have  ever  seen  who  carried  this  point 
to  extremes.  In  the  years  1913-14  he  rode  at 
Olympia,  and  caused  much  amusement  to  the  on- 
lookers. Every  time  the  horse  jumped,  instead  of 
increasing  his  hold  on  the  saddle,  he  relaxed  it; 
in  fact,  he  opened  out  his  legs  instead  of  closing 
them.  The  result  was  he  was  thrown  up  into  the 
air  quite  two  feet  and  sometimes  more  away  from 


THE   GRIP  75 

the  saddle,  and  came  down  with  a  hard  thump  as 
the  horse  landed.  Of  course,  if  the  horse  swerved  at 
all  he  would  be  completely  unhorsed,  but  generally- 
speaking  the  horse  jumped  perfectly  true,  and  he 
was  able  to  continue  his  round.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  he  did  some  capital  performances,  and  if  it 
was  not  an  exhibition  of  riding  in  its  best  sense, 
it  showed  that  he,  at  least,  had  grasped  the  great 
principle  of  freedom  for  the  horse  from  the  moment 
he  takes  off  to  the  moment  he  lands.  The  result 
was  that  his  horse  jumped  very  cleverly  and  well, 
and  seldom  touched  a  fence. 

This  brings  me  back  to  the  statement  that  if 
only  riders  can  arrange  never  to  interfere  in  any 
way  with  a  horse  as  he  jumps,  the  horse  will  jump 
clean  and  true  every  time.  We  can  interfere  with 
him  in  only  three  ways  :  by  the  reins,  by  the 
body,  and  by  the  legs.  Give  the  horse  complete 
freedom  in  all  three  particulars,  and  then  if  his 
early  education  has  been  good  we  will  find  him 
slipping  over  fences  in  a  way  that  will  surprise  us. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  balance  is  the  whole  basis 
of  horsemanship,  there  must  be  great  variation 
in  style,  owing  to  the  varying  conformation  of 
individuals. 

This  is  most  certainly  true,  and  every  rider  must 
adjust  his  seat  to  his  conformity.  If  he  is  well 
proportioned,  his  seat  should  be  a  good  one.  If 
he  is  not  so  blessed  by  nature,  he  may  not  look 
so  well  in  the  saddle. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  fact  that  we  only 
grip  when  we  are  in  disagreement  with  our  mount, 


76  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

as,  for  example,  when  he  is  refusmg,  or  when  he 
is  shying  or  bucking.  But  there  is  another  occa- 
sion when  grip  is  necessary.  It  is  when  he  is 
going  faster  than  we  mean  him  to,  "  pulUng,"  in 
fact.  Then  is  the  occasion  when  "  grip  "  is  neces- 
sar}^  Inexperienced  horsemen  merely  hold  on  to 
the  reins  and  pull  against  him.  In  doing  so  the 
inclination  is  to  stick  the  feet  out  so  as  to  get  a 
stronger  leverage.  Such  a  method  of  treating 
pulling  horses  is,  of  course,  entirely  ^vrong.  The 
way  to  tackle  this  very  common  problem  is  to 
grip.  Get  one's  knees  well  pointed  (^.  e.  the  lower 
part  of  the  leg  back),  and  hold  him  as  tight  as 
possible.  The  faster  he  goes,  the  tighter  must  be 
the  grip.  When  a  horse  is  held  like  this  he  will 
never  get  out  of  hand.  Keep  a  firm  pressure  on 
the  reins,  and  then  when  it  is  wanted  to  stop  him, 
it  can  be  done.  Here  the  control  is  maintained  by 
grip,  and  the  more  powerful  the  rider,  the  less 
able  even  the  most  confirmed  bolter  will  be  to 
get  away.  The  expression  **  out  of  hand  "  really 
means  "  out  of  leg."  That  is  the  whole  secret  of 
riding  "keen"  horses,  but  the  knees  must  be 
pointed  and  the  hands  kept  low. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  grip,  I  want  to 
say  a  word  in  favour  of  the  short-legged  men.  It 
is  so  generally  supposed  that  long  legs  are  best 
for  riding,  that  any  other  view  may  come  as  a 
surprise.  But,  personally,  I  consider  that  the 
strong,  short-legged  man  has  better  command  than 
a  man  who  has  what  is  called  a  good  riding  leg. 
Firstly,  the  strong  little  man   has   better  control 


THE   GRIP  77 

over  his  limbs,  and  when  it  comes  to  a  question 
of  grip,  I  beheve  he  can  hold  a  horse  tighter.  It 
is,  in  reality,  a  question  of  leverage.  We  do  not 
crack  nuts  low  down  on  the  shanks  of  the  cracker, 
but  as  high  up  as  possible. 

Let  us  look  at  diagram  VII.  When  a  given 
force  is  exercised  on  the  angle  B  C  B,  there  will 
be  greater  pressure  exercised  on  the  line  A  A  than 
on  B  B,  and  if  this  point  is  admitted,  then,  other 
things  being  equal,  the  man  with  the  shorter 
thighs  should  be  able  to  q 

hold  his  horse  tighter 
than  a  man  with  longer 
ones. 

Certainly  it  is  my  ex- 
perience that  it  is  not  the 
long-legged  men  that  can 
keep  a  horse  to  a  fence  diagram  VII 

best,  but  the  short -legged 
ones.  I  do  not  lay  this  down  as  a  hard  rule,  but 
merely  mention  it  for  the  consideration  of  my 
readers. 

Although  this  chapter  has  advocated  a  "  no- 
grip  "  principle,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunder- 
stood. In  using  the  word  "grip"  I  mean  a 
definite  physical  effort,  quite  apart  from  mere 
pressure. 

Pressure  must  be  used  at  all  times.  When 
hacking,  to  keep  a  horse  well  into  his  bridle,  and 
to  keep  him  collected  and  balanced;  and  when 
cantering  or  galloping,  this  pressure  has  to  be 
considerably  increased.     Unless  this  is  done,  there 


78  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

is  not  sufficient  resistance  to  withstand  the  pres- 
sure of  the  wind,  or  to  prevent  the  whole  body 
sKpping  further  and  further  back  in  the  saddle. 
Without  this  pressure  we  should  immediately  cease 
to  be  one  with  the  horse,  which  is,  after  all,  the 
whole  art  and  object  of  horsemanship.  The  more 
spirited  the  horse,  or  the  faster  he  is  going,  so 
must  the  pressure  be  increased.  But  with  the 
body  properly  placed,  and  with  our  stirrups  and 
reins  of  correct  length,  this  pressure  should  be 
quite  unnoticed  both  by  the  horse  and  the  rider, 
and  will  affect  neither.  But  grip  is  quite  a  different 
thing.  It  is  exhausting  to  the  rider  and  hampering 
to  the  horse,  and  should  only  be  exercised,  as  I 
have  already  said,  on  those  occasions  when  a 
difference  of  opinion  exists  between  the  horse  and 
rider. 

Before  passing  on  to  the  subject  of  training, 
which  I  propose  to  deal  with  in  my  next  chapter, 
the  use  of  the  spur  is  a  matter  which  I  would  like 
to  refer  to  for  a  moment.  It  is  one  which  can  be 
quickly  and  easily  dealt  with,  but  it  has  an  impor- 
tance which  demands  more  attention  than  is  usually 
attributed  to  it. 

The  spur,  like  the  whip,  should  be  used  as  little 
as  possible.  There  is  no  question  but  that  spurs 
should  always  be  worn  when  riding,  but  there  are 
two  kinds,  blunt  and  sharp.  The  sharp  spur  should 
only  be  used  in  the  riding  school  or  manege  when 
teaching  horses  to  obey  the  leg.  It  is  then  of  the 
highest  importance,  but  on  all  other  occasions  blimt 
spurs  should  be  used.     When  using  the  sharp  spur 


THE   GRIP  79 

it  is  necessary  to  apply  it  with  great  discretion 
and  discrimination.  Young  horses,  before  they 
have  learnt  its  application,  and  when  either  fretting 
against  the  exercises  they  are  being  asked  to  per- 
form or  when  failing  to  understand  the  rider's 
intention,  sometimes  run  into  the  spur,  that  is  to 
say,  instead  of  edging  away  from  it,  they  force 
themselves  into  it.  When  this  occurs,  it  is  not 
only  useless  but  wrong  for  the  rider  to  push  them 
home.  The  spur  should  be  used  to  teach  a  horse 
to  answer  to  the  pressure  of  the  leg,  and  when  that 
cannot  be  done  its  use  is  at  an  end. 

If  it  is  found  that  the  horse  is  running  into  the 
spur,  it  shows  that  he  is  behind  his  bridle,  and 
the  solution  is  to  drop  the  exercise  for  the  moment, 
let  him  walk  on,  and  start  again,  after  he  has 
been  "  legged  up." 

A  properly  used  spur  should  seldom  produce 
blood.  The  spur  is  a  menace  only,  and  its  full 
power  should  only  be  used  on  rare  occasions. 

The  poet  who  wrote,  "  The  horse  is  a  hireling, 
thy  spurs  are  thine  own,"  represented  the  atti- 
tude of  mind  of,  I  fear,  too  many  people,  even 
to-day.  The  bloody  spur  is  a  thing  all  riders 
should  be  heartily  ashamed  of.  So  that  when  not 
doing  riding-school  work,  the  blunt  spur  should  be 
used  at  all  times.  This  particularly  applies  to 
jumping.  Even  with  the  most  experienced  horse- 
men it  is  impossible  to  prevent  cutting  a  horse 
with  the  spur  on  such  occasions.  When  training 
a  horse  to  jump  there  are  tw^o  points  we  aim  at. 
The  first  is  to  get  him  to  be  fond  of  jumping,  and 


80  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

the  other  is  to  be  temperate ;  it  is  an  obvious 
impossibihty  to  get  either  if  the  unfortunate  animal 
knows  that  his  sides  are,  as  likely  as  not,  to  be 
torn  every  time  he  takes  a  jump.  Not  only  does 
it  do  positive  harm  in  this  direction,  I  know  of 
no  occasion  when  it  ever  does  any  good.  The 
sharp  spur  does  not  prevent  a  horse  from  running 
out  or  refusing.  It  doesn't  help  him  to  win  a 
race,  and  it  certainly  doesn't  make  him  jump 
better.  Once  a  horse  is  in  motion  at  any  pace 
over  the  collected  trot,  rowels  have  no  effect  upon 
him  at  all,  except  to  cause  unnecessary  pain  and 
discomfort. 

At  polo,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  they  have  been 
abolished  for  some  years.  I  only  wish  the  same 
rule  had  been  applied  to  racing.  The  blunt  spur 
does  all  that  is  required  on  these  occasions,  and 
if  a  horse  has  been  properly  trained  before  he 
comes  out  hunting,  they  are  not  necessary  in  the 
hunting  field  either. 

When  the  spur  is  applied  it  should  be  on  a  spot 
one  inch  behind  the  girth,  and  nowhere  else.  But 
look  at  a  horse  returning  to  the  paddock  after  a 
steeplechase.  One  vnW  find  him  sometimes  with 
spur  marks  all  over  him — on  the  shoulders,  on  the 
loins,  on  the  forearms,  and  heaven  knows  where 
else.  What  use  it  has  all  been  in  helping  the 
horse  to  win  a  race  is  one  of  those  mysteries  that 
I  have  never  been  able  to  fathom.  I  hope  I  may 
live  to  see  the  day  when  the  National  Hunt  Com- 
mittee will  issue  an  order  that  neither  sharp  spurs 
nor  whips  will  be  allowed.      A  light  stick  if  you 


THE   GRIP  81 

will,  but  whips  never.  But  whether  the  edict  is 
passed  or  not,  I  am  convinced  that  if  owners  issue 
those  orders  to  the  jockeys  they  will  win  more 
races,  and  I  trust  that  in  itself  will  be  sufficient 
inducement. 

The  importance  of  the  blunt  spur  applies  equally 
to  the  show-ring.  A  horse  does  not  require  the 
application  of  the  rowel,  and  I  have  yet  to  meet 
the  rider  who  can  get  round  without  a  mark  if  he 
wears  sharp  spurs.  And,  after  all,  what  is  the 
good  of  it  ? 

Has  any  one  ever  seen  a  horse  in  a  race  go 
faster  because  the  spurs  were  applied?  We  know 
the  answer  is  in  the  negative.  But  has  any  one 
seen  a  horse  (especially  mares)  go  slower  on  being 
touched  with  the  spur?  To  this  question  we 
equally  know  the  reply  will  be  affirmative.  A 
"  nappy  "  horse  inclined  to  refuse  may  sometimes 
be  induced  to  jump  by  their  application,  but  I 
am  very  doubtful  on  this  point.  Personally,  I 
prefer  a  tap  on  the  shoulder  and  a  firm  pressure 
of  the  legs  to  any  other  form  of  persuasion,  and 
my  opinion  is,  that  a  horse  in  a  race  seldom,  if 
ever,  requires  any  further  assistance.  Similarly  in 
the  hunting  field  or  the  show-ring,  I  am  convinced 
that  the  sharp  spur  is  unnecessary  and  inflicts 
needless  discomfort,  not  to  say  actual  pain. 

We  are  told,  "It  is  no  use  fighting  against  the 
pricks,"  but  I  trust  for  once  the  adage  may  prove 
false.  I  sincerely  hope  that,  in  however  small  a 
way,  my  efforts  in  this  direction  may  do  some  good. 


THE  APPROACH 

The  question  we  must  now  ask  ourselves  is, 
what  is  the  secret  of  presenting  the  fence  to  a 
horse,  so  that  he  will  jump  it  off  his  hocks,  land 
a  comfortable  distance  the  other  side,  and  give  us 
what  is  known  as  a  good  "  feel  "  ?  We  all  know 
that  out  hunting  it  is  only  occasionally  we  get 
that.  About  two  fences  out  of  three,  we  get  over 
all  right,  but  we  are  quite  aware  that  the  horse 
was  out  of  his  stride,  and  jumped  off  his  forehand. 
Under  such  circumstances  we  experience  no  feeling 
of  pleasure,  but  only  that  of  relief,  when  we  find 
that  he  has  landed  safely  the  other  side. 

But  when  he  does  come  up  to  the  fence  in  his 
stride,  springs  off  his  hocks,  and  lands  well  into 
the  next  field,  what  a  different  sensation  it  is,  and 
how  it  adds  to  the  pleasure  (and  safety)  of  hunting  ! 
I  think  it  is  generally  believed  that  it  is  too  much 
to  expect  any  man  to  reach  such  a  standard  as  to 
be  sure  of  his  stride  every  time,  and,  in  fact,  that 
hunting  people  are,  generally  speaking,  content 
with  things  as  they  are,  and  do  not  much  worry 
about  such  higher  flights  of  horsemanship. 

But  those  who  delight  in  riding  for  riding's  sake 
(they  are  many),  and  who  are  not  content  with 

82 


THE  APPROACH  83 

anything  less  than  perfection,  are  not  satisfied 
unless  they  can  put  a  horse  at  a  fence  in  the 
correct  way,  every  time.  I  do  not  believe  there  is 
a  more  difficult  art  than  this,  because  we  have  to 
ride  every  horse  in  a  somewhat  different  manner. 
Some  horses  are  very  easy,  and  when  riding  such 
as  these  we  fancy  we  have  mastered  the  problem, 
only  to  find  ourselves  woefully  far  from  perfection 
when  we  get  on  to  some  other  less  temperate 
mount. 

However,  the  rules  are  the  same  in  all  cases, 
it  is  only  the  application  that  presents  the  difficulty. 

The  first  point  is  that  the  horse  should  be 
systematically  trained  in  a  riding  school,  or 
manege  (which  can  be  easily  rigged  up  in  any 
field)  to  the  complete  obedience  to  the  leg  and 
rein.  He  must  be  able  to  break  into  a  canter 
from  the  walk,  his  stride  must  be  controllable,  and 
he  must  have  learnt  to  jump  on  being  given  the 
"  office." 

One  of  the  most  common  faults  we  see,  especi- 
ally when  a  rather  larger  fence  than  usual  is  to  be 
negotiated,  is  a  man  taking  what  he  calls  a  "  good 
run  "  at  it.  He  starts  off  as  fast  as  possible;  as 
he  approaches  the  fence  his  horse  begins  to 
stick  his  toes  in,  and  goes  slower  and  slower 
(not  necessarily  because  he  means  or  wants  to 
refuse,  but  because  he  is  trying  to  get  his  stride 
right,  which  the  rider  by  hustling  him  prevents 
him  doing),  until  he  reaches  the  fence,  by  which 
time  he  is  almost  at  a  standstill.  He  then  bucks 
over,  and  if  there  is  a  ditch  on  the  far  side,  he 


84  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

will  probably  peck  badly  on  landing.  We  must 
indeed  be  bold  horsemen  to  ride  horses  in  this 
manner  over  a  big  coimtry.  Of  course,  the  exact 
opposite  is  the  correct  way.  We  should  start 
slowly,  and  increase  our  pace  until  the  take  off, 
which  should  be  the  quickest  stride  of  all,  so  as 
to  get  the  momentum  necessary  to  carry  us  well 
over  into  the  next  "  parish." 

It  is  not  generally  realized  that  the  fence  is 
jumped  well  or  badly,  according  to  the  manner 
the  rider  has  his  horse  in  hand,  when  twelve  yards 
away  from  the  fence.  It  is  here  that  the  crucial 
moment  is.  At  this  spot  the  horse  should  be  in  a 
gentle  canter,  and  under  the  complete  control  of 
his  rider.  As  the  horse  makes  his  next  stride, 
which  should  be  quite  a  short  one  (two  yards  at 
most)  the  rider  then  must  make  up  his  mind — 
three  strides  and  over.  He  gives  the  horse  his 
head  slightly,  and  the  stride  is  increased  to  two 
and  a  half  yards,  again  a  little  more  head,  and  he 
covers  three  yards;  then  with  a  little  pressure  of 
the  legs  he  covers  three  and  a  half  yards  his  last 
stride,  collects  himself,  and  jumps  the  fence  when 
six  feet  away  from  it,  or  just  a  nice  distance  for 
making  a  good  jump.  Naturally,  I  do  not  mean 
the  distances  I  have  just  given  to  be  taken  too 
literally,  I  merely  give  them  to  show  my  meaning ; 
but  nevertheless,  for  a  good  performance,  these 
distances  would  not  be  so  far  out. 

Let  us  look  at  diagram  VIII  for  a  moment. 

When  the  rider  has  reached  position  A,  he  has 
to  make  his  decision.     His  eye  can  see  that  three 


THE   APPROACH  85 

good  strides  will  just  do  it  nicely,  and  that  each 
stride  will  have  to  be  slightly  longer  than  the  one 
preceding  it,  so  that  by  the  time  he  has  reached 
the  take  off,  he  has  got  his  horse  full  of  momentum, 
and  is  in  a  position  to  clear  anything  that  may  be 
the  other  side. 

Such  a  condition  would  be  perfection,  but  we 
cannot  expect  to  do  as  well  as  that  every  time, 
even  on  perfectly  trained  horses.  But  we  have  a 
good  deal  of  latitude  wherein  to  rectify  mistakes. 

This  spot  is  where 
the  decision 
is  made 


Canter  up  to  here 


A 
lastrfde    2"."*        3"^ Stride    <^' 


I  '-Stftde     Z 


Feet  6'  6'  6'     I       7'  9  K)  € 

V 31' yi 


Feet 


Diagram  VIII 

For  instance,  we  needn't  make  three  strides;  we 
can  do  it  nearly  as  well  with  two.  Supposing 
we  have  got  a  little  too  close  with  our  first  stride, 
then  we  can  make  the  second  a  shorter  one,  or 
make  two  shorts.  In  the  latter  case,  momentum 
would  be  lost,  which  would  be  of  no  importance 
if  we  knew  exactly  what  was  the  other  side.  The 
principle,  I  hope,  is  clear.  One,  two,  three,  over. 
That  is  it,  in  a  nutshell.  Sometimes  we  do  it 
one,  two,  over,  and  sometimes  even  one,  over.  But 
the  best,  and  what  is  necessary  for  a  big  fence  is, 
one,  two,  three,  over. 


86  HINTS   ON  HORSEIVIANSHIP 

But  in  order  to  get  this,  it  is  obvious  that  we 
must  train  our  horses. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  things  to  overcome, 
and  one  which  is  very  prevalent,  is  rushing.  If  a 
horse  takes  charge  whenever  he  sees  a  fence,  any 
delicacy  of  handling  is  an  impossibility,  and  for 
the  time  being  we  are  "  passengers." 

Another  point  that  has  to  be  overcome  is 
"  fretting."  If  a  horse  is  anxious  and  fretful  when 
he  is  about  to  jump,  it  is  often  impossible  to  get 
his  stride  right  at  point  A  (see  diagram).  Once 
we  have  got  him  right  there,  then  we  can  "  plug  " 
him  at  the  fence,  and  his  fretfulness  doesn't  matter 
any  more. 

That  is  why  it  is  so  important  to  have  a  horse 
collected,  and  in  hand,  because  unless  we  can  be 
sure  of  his  stride  at  that  point,  we  cannot  be  sure 
of  the  remainder. 

Out  hunting  we  often  don't  get  a  chance  of 
"  putting  "  our  horses  properly,  on  account  of  the 
crowd,  who  won't  give  us  room,  but  when  we  have 
shaken  off  the  crowd,  and  get  room  to  ourselves, 
there  is  no  reason  why  we  shouldn't  be  able  to 
try,  at  any  rate,  to  put  this  into  practice. 

With  the  Meath  hounds,  where  they  have  deep 
ditches  to  jump  almost  entirely,  it  is  their  practice 
to  take  them  from  a  standstill,  and  I  found  it  a 
most  uncomfortable  and  unsatisfactory  proceeding. 
The  reason  they  give  is  that  if  they  were  tackled 
in  the  ordinary  manner,  the  horse  might  make 
a  mistake,  and  a  broken  back  would  result,  as 
likely  as  not.     I  hunted  with  this  pack  for  four 


THE  APPROACH  87 

seasons,  and  each  year  I  became  more  and  more 
convinced  that  that  was  not  the  way  to  negotiate 
those  or  any  other  fences.  A  broken  back  would 
be  impossible  as  long  as  the  rider  kept  his  body 
forward,  and  if  the  horse  was  properly  "  put"  at 
the  ditch,  he  would  clear  it  much  more  easily  and 
with  far  more  satisfaction  to  the  rider,  than  in  the 
manner  advocated,  which  was  to  push  his  fore  legs 
partly  down  the  side  of  the  ditch,  and  then  make 
him  lurch  forward  on  to  the  opposite  slope,  from  a 
standing  position,  and  get  him  to  clamber  up  as 
best  he  can. 

Every  one  knows  the  great  capacity  horses  have 
for  jumping,  but  it  is  not  generally  recognized 
why  it  is  so  much  more  difficult  to  jump  a  big 
fence  properly  than  a  small  one.  To  jump  a  rail 
three  foot  high  is  within  the  capacity  of  nearly 
every  rider.  But  four  feet,  although  still  quite  a 
small  jump,  is  another  matter,  and  five  feet  is 
usually  considered  to  be  quite  outside  the  question 
in  the  himting  field.  The  reason  for  this  is,  that 
as  the  fence  increases  in  height,  so  the  difficulty 
of  "  putting  "  the  horse  at  it  increases  in  proportion. 

Looking  at  diagram  IX,  a  horse,  it  will  be 
seen,  can  clear  the  lower  rail  easily  if  he  takes 
off  anywhere  between  the  points  A  B.  If  he  is 
beyond  B  he  would  be  too  close,  if  not  up  to 
A,  he  would  be  too  far  away  to  clear  it.  But 
anywhere  between  those  two  points  are  quite 
within  his  capacity.  Now  look  at  the  higher  rail. 
The  points  A  B  are  here  much  closer  together,  so 
that  to  clear  this  with  any  certainty  the  rider  has  to 


88  HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

insure  that  he  gets  his  horse  to  take  off  on  a  spot 
which  (in  very  high  jumping)  can  be  measured  in 
inches. 

This  is  where  the  difficulty  comes  in.  The 
horse  can  jump  it,  we  all  know,  provided  the  fence 
is  presented  to  him  in  the  proper  way,  and  we  can 
only  insure  our  being  able  to  do  this  if  he  has 


Rail 


A      —    B 


Rail 


A-B 
Diagram  IX 

been  most  carefully  trained  beforehand.  We  must 
have  our  horse  so  obedient  to  the  leg  and  rein,  as 
to  be  able  to  get  him  to  place  his  feet  upon  any 
selected  spot — a  daisy,  for  example.  Canter  him 
about  a  paddock,  and  do  not  feel  satisfied  until 
you  can  get  him  to  place  his  forefeet  close  to  that 
daisy  every  time.  Until  wt  can  do  this  we  can 
never  be  sure  of  "  putting  "  him  with  any  accuracy 
at  a  fence  of  any  real  size. 


THE   APPROACH  89 

I  do  not  believe  in  high  jumping,  and  have  never 
gone  in  for  it  in  any  shape  or  form  as  a  competition, 
but  I  do  know  that  if  a  horse  can  jump  four  feet 
well,  then  he  can  jump  any  other  height  up  to 
the  limits  of  his  capacity.  On  one  occasion  I  was 
induced  to  put  two  of  my  horses  over  a  rail  six 
feet  high,  as  an  exhibition  jump.  The  first  horse 
I  put  at  it  was  well  in  hand,  and  cleared  it  at  the 
first  attempt  quite  easily.  My  second  horse  was 
*'  fretful,"  and  I  couldn't  get  him  to  answer  to  the 
leg  and  rein,  and  when  at  the  crucial  point  (about 
thirty-six  feet  away)  I  could  not  get  him  to  place  his 
fore  feet  on  the  spot  I  required.  The  consequence 
was,  that  I  had  to  make  several  efforts  before  I 
could  get  his  stride  right.  To  the  onlookers  he 
appeared  to  be  refusing,  but  such  was  not  really 
the  case,  because,  as  I  knew  his  stride  wasn't 
correct,  I  didn't  ask  him  to  jump.  But  after  a 
little  while,  I  did  manage  to  get  him  right,  and  at 
the  last  stride,  I  gave  him  the  "  office,"  and  he 
was  over  with  a  good  six  inches  to  spare.  I 
mention  this  to  show  how  necessary  it  is  to  have 
one's  horse  so  trained  that  there  is  no  fretting, 
or  yawing,  or  rushing.  He  must  be  completely 
obedient  while  approaching  the  fence,  then  we  can 
give  him  his  head  for  the  last  three  strides,  and  a 
perfect  jump  will  be  the  result. 

Horses  that  have  not  been  trained  to  jump 
properly,  are  very  apt,  even  when  they  have  been 
correctly  "  put  "  at  a  fence,  to  put  in  a  short  stride. 
This  is  due,  generally  speaking,  to  one  or  all  of 
three    causes :    firstly,  he    has  never  been  taught 


90  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

to  jump  off  his  hocks;  secondly,  because  he  lacks 
the  necessary  confidence;  and  thirdly  (and  this,  I 
am  sorry  to  say,  is  the  most  common  reason), 
because  he  knows  that  if  he  does  jump  at  that 
moment,  he  will  get  a  jab  in  the  mouth. 

So  that  not  only  do  we  have  to  learn  how  to 
put  a  horse  at  a  fence,  but  we  have  to  teach  our 
mount  to  take  off  when  we  ask  him,  in  full  con- 
fidence that  we  will  not  punish  him  immediately 
afterwards  for  so  doing,  by  jabbing  him  in  the 
mouth,  or  ramming  our  spurs  home. 

Those  who  have  read  through  the  earlier  chapters 
of  this  little  book  will  know  how  to  avoid  being 
"  left  behind  "  (which  the  jab  in  the  mouth  de- 
notes), and  should  be  in  a  position  to  inculcate 
that  confidence  necessary  in  a  horse  before  he  will 
jump  freely.  The  next  chapter  will  deal  mth  the 
methods  for  training  the  horse  on  those  lines  which 
will  bring  out  to  the  best  advantage  that  w^onderful 
capacity  for  jumping  which  so  many  horses  possess, 
and  which  can  be  developed  to  such  a  marked 
degree  by  patience  and  hard  work. 


TRAINING 

One  of  our  chief  difficulties  lies  in  the  fact  that 
we  are  seldom  able  to  start  training  our  own  horses 
young  enough.  For  those  in  the  happy  position  of 
being  able  to  breed  and  break  their  own  horses  the 
problem  is  more  than  half  solved.  Those  who  buy 
horses  to  sell  again  at  the  end  of  the  season  can 
do  very  little.  They  must  take  what  they  find 
and  make  the  best  of  it.  Old  horses  can  be  im- 
proved enormously,  with  time  and  patience,  but 
the  best  results  will  be  obtained  if  we  can  start 
ourselves  with  young  stock  and  work  them  up  under 
one  continuous  system.  Results  that  will  surprise 
us,  because  the  intelligence  of  the  horse  is  much 
greater  than  many  people  suppose,  and  with  kind 
treatment  it  is  astonishing  to  what  a  standard  he 
can  be  trained.  I  do  not  believe  in  the  whip,  or 
any  form  of  punishment  whatsoever.  The  riding 
whip  or  bit  of  stick  is  extremely  useful  to  touch 
a  horse  with  on  the  shoulder,  but  as  a  means  of 
punishment  it  is  an  anathema.  Jumping  should 
be  made  a  treat,  to  which  your  horses  should  look 
forward,  and  it  is  only  badly  trained  horses  that  ever 
refuse.  Consequently  it  is  superfluous  to  say  that 
under  no  circumstances  should  a  horse  be  touched 
in  the  mouth  when  jumping,  and  if  the  spur  has  to 

91 


92  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

be  used  it  should  be  a  blunt  one,  as  I  have  already- 
said. 

I  am  no  great  believer  in  free  jumping  in 
training  horses.  Yearlings,  and  stock  too  young  to 
be  ridden  over  fences,  may  certainly  be  trained 
to  jump  au  naturel  over  some  very  low  rail  as  they 
come  in  to  be  fed.  This  will  make  them  associate 
the  jump  and  the  rail  with  their  dinner;  it  will 
give  them  confidence  and  make  leaping  attractive, 
but  it  must  never  be  more  than  a  couple  of  feet  off 
the  ground,  at  most. 

The  training  and  treatment  of  horses  is  in  so 
many  respects  similar  to  how  we  should  be  trained 
and  treated  ourselves,  one  is  seldom  wrong  in 
taking  our  own  experiences  as  analogous. 

Supposing  we  have  a  boy  whom  we  wanted  to 
do  well  at,  say,  high  jumping.  There  would  not 
only  be  no  harm,  but  it  would  be  strictly  beneficial 
to  allow  him,  when  quite  small,  to  amuse  himself 
jumping  over  little  obstacles,  such  as  chairs,  and 
what  not.  But  if  we  allowed  him  to  practise  for 
his  first  competition  ^vithout  the  aid  of  expert 
advice,  we  should  assuredly  make  it  harder  to 
teach  him  when  we  eventually  put  him  into  the 
hands  of  a  trainer.  The  expert  would  at  once  say 
that  he  would  first  have  to  get  him  to  unlearn  all 
he  had  learnt  before  he  could  start  getting  him 
into  the  proper  style,  and  that  it  was  a  great  pity 
he  hadn't  been  allowed  to  have  taken  him  in  hand 
from  the  beginning. 

And  so  it  is  w^th  horses.  Their  early  education 
may  be  started  by  free  jumping,  but  it  should  be 


TRAINING  93 

so  limited  as  to  insure  their  not  getting  into  bad 
habits.  Jumping  is  so  much  a  question  of  obedience 
to  the  rider,  and  of  answering  inmiediately  to  his 
wishes,  that  the  sooner  we  begin  riding  at  our 
fences  the  better. 

It  is  very  generally  believed  that  horses  should 
not  be  jumped  either  much  or  often.  We  are  told 
that  horses  soon  sicken  of  it,  and  that  much 
jumping  ruins  their  legs. 

I  will  take  each  contention  separately.  I  wish  to 
lay  great  emphasis  on  the  first  point.  Horses  do  not 
tire  of  jumping,  provided  they  are  properly  treated 
(and  even  then  they  are  most  astonishingly  long- 
suffering).  Horses  refuse  because  they  have  not 
been  jumped  enough,  not  because  they  have  been 
jumped  too  often.  Out  hunting,  I  ask,  which 
fence  is  it  a  horse  most  often  refuses  ?  His  first, 
or  his  last?  After  a  long  day's  hunt,  after  your 
fortieth  fence,  do  you  expect  him  to  refuse  his 
forty-first  because  he  has  got  tired  ?  If  the  answer 
is  that  in  the  one  case  he  has  the  joy  of  the  hunt 
in  his  veins,  and  in  the  other  merely  an  artificial 
obstacle,  I  can  only  reply  :  Try  and  see.  I  can 
only  assure  my  readers  that  the  rider  will  tire  long 
before  the  horse.  I  have  never  reached  the  stage 
myself,  and  I  am  quite  confident  that  I  never 
shall  succeed  in  sickening  my  horse  before  I  myself 
am  completely  exhausted. 

As  to  affecting  their  legs  or  feet,  I  can  only 
say  that  this  is  not  the  result  from  experience. 
The  time  sinews  are  sprained  is  when  a  horse  is 
exhausted. 


94  HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

The  breakdown  occurs  at  the  end  of  a  steeple- 
chase, not  at  the  beginnmg;  at  the  end  of  a  long 
hunt,  not  at  the  first  fence.  Exhaustion  is  the 
only  danger  we  have  to  fear.  I  do  not,  of  course, 
refer  to  mishaps,  such  as  an  overreach,  but  I  do 
maintain  that  no  horse  has  sprained  a  sinew  when 
jumping  unless  he  has  been  overtaxed.  It  is 
curious  how  firmly  the  idea  that  jumping  is  a 
danger  for  horses  is  fixed  in  the  minds  of  many 
hunting  people.  I  knew  one  man  who  used  to 
believe  that  every  fence  jumped  took  one  day  off 
his  horse's  life.  No  theory  could  have  been  formu- 
lated on  more  slender  foundation,  unsupported 
by  either  theory  or  practice,  and  yet  his  contention 
was  accepted  without  question.  One  might  as  well 
say  that  exercise  shortened  a  horse's  life,  or 
that  dumb-bells  in  the  morning  shortened  ours  ! 
No;  exhaustion  alone  is  the  danger,  the  only 
danger  we  have  to  consider,  and  provided  we  keep 
to  small  fences  the  more  we  jump  the  better. 
The  Italians  say  fifty  jumps  every  day,  but  without 
binding  ourselves  to  any  definite  number,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
jump  too  much,  and  that  if  we  err  it  will  always 
be  on  the  side  of  too  little,  rather  than  too 
much. 

Before  jumping  is  started,  however,  the  usual 
riding-school  lessons  must  be  learnt.  It  is  not  the 
object  of  these  articles  to  go  into  details  which 
can  be  easily  obtained  in  a  variety  of  books  which 
have  been  written  on  the  subject,  but  merely  to 
emphasize  once  more  the  necessity  for  the  obedience 


TRAINING 


95 


of  the  horse  to  the  rider's  hand  and  leg.  These 
principles  are  already  widely  known,  and  require  no 
enlarging  upon. 

But  after   we  MANEGE 

have  reached  a 
reasonable 
standard  in  this 
branch  of  our 
horse's  educa- 
tion, we  then 
have  to  com- 
mence riding 
over  fences. 

The  most 
common  difficul- 
ty is  to  prevent 
them"  rushing" 
directly  they 
know  they  are 
going  to  jump, 
and  this  fault 
must  be  elimi- 
nated before  we 
can  even  begin 
to  consider  their 
education  has 
passed  the  ele- 
mentary stage. 

A    good    way 
to  do  this  is  to  place  a  row  of  hurdles  stretching 
right  across  from  side  to  side  of  the  paddock,  so  as 
to  divide  it  into  two  equal  parts  as  in  diagram  X, 


^^^                  '"- 

>» 

ff 

V 

/ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

<^ 

/ 

/\ 

^'     .. 

---'     1 

\,^^ 

1 

/ 

\\ 

/» 

1  V 

/ 1 

1     V 

/  1 

\ 

/ 

1           s 

y 

1 

"-^ ^- 

•             • 

i 

RAILS 

HURDLES 

RAILS 

4< 

«* "       ^"*  **•. 

1 
1 

1 

y 

^ 

y 

N                 1 

\      ^ 

\            1 

\^ 

\l 

/ 

\| 

f 

M 

\ 

1 

I 

.-" " 

1 

-'" 

/ 

^       / 

\ 

\/ 

\ 

> 

K 

if- 

N, 

"-^ ^^ 

y 
• 

Diagram  X 


06  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

with,  preferably,  three  adjustable  rails  as  jumps, 
one  at  each  end  of  the  row  of  hurdles,  and  one  in 
the  middle.     Wings  are  not  necessary  or  desirable. 

Canter  on  a  circle,  and  on  each  occasion  you 
face  the  rail,  if  you  find  your  horse  quickens  his 
stride,  don't  let  him  jump,  but  continue  him  on  the 
circle.  After  a  while  he  will  begin  to  think  he 
isn't  going  to  jump,  and  then  you  can  put  him 
at  it,  and  so  get  him  to  jump  it  steadily  without 
rushing. 

Directly   he   has   done   this   off   one   rein,   then 
change  at  once,  and  do  the  same  thing  again  off 
the  other  rein.     In  all  early  training  jump  each 
fence  alternately  off  the  off  fore  and  near  fore,  and 
always  arrange   for  the   horse   to   have   an   equal 
amount  of  training  on  both  reins.     In  all  this  early 
training  I  must  again  emphasize  the  importance 
of  having  the  rail  very  low,  so  that  the  horse  can 
jump  it  without  effort.     In  this  way  he  will  learn 
to  jump  off  either  leg,  and  land  on  the  same  leg, 
and  continue  his  canter  without  any  change  of  leg 
or    "  scuffle."     Watch    horses    carefully    as    they 
approach  a  jump,  and  instead  of  cantering  smoothly 
on  whichever  leg  they  happen  to  be  on,  it  \\'ill  be 
often   noticed   how  they  "  scuffle,"   in   doubt,   in 
fact,  which  leg  to  jump  off,  or  they  will  definitely 
change  in  order  to  jump  off  the  leg  they  prefer. 
In  either  case  they  are,  as  likely  as  not,  disunited, 
and  such  grave  faults  can  only  be  cured  before  they 
are  habits.     Similarly  on  landing,  a  horse  should 
continue    on    the    correct    leg,    united    and    true, 
directly  his  hind  legs  reach  the  ground.   Here,  again, 


TRAINING  9t 

it  is  common  to  see  a  bit  of  "  scuffling,"  especially 
if  they  have  jumped  off  their  unaccustomed  leg. 

In  order  to  test  this,  the  management  at  Olympia 
in  the  year  1913,  I  think  it  was,  had  the  course 
laid  on  the  figure-of-eight  plan,  and  it  was  very  in- 
teresting to  note  the  result.  Many  riders  never 
thought  of  "changing"  at  all,  and  others  who 
did  "change"  at  the  turns,  "changed"  again 
before  jumping,  showing  that  their  horses  had  been 
trained  entirely  on  one  rein.  Such  matters  as 
these  are  not  of  much  importance  if  we  are  only 
training  hunters,  but  they  make  a  good  deal  of 
difference  if  we  intend  to  aspire  later  on  to  higher 
flights.  In  any  case  it  is  just  as  easy  to  start 
in  the  one  way  as  the  other,  and  as  it  adds  very 
much  to  the  interest  of  training,  it  is  to  be  recom- 
mended from  whatever  aspect  we  take  it.  A 
trained  jumper  in  the  field  of  athletics  must  be 
thinking  solely  of  the  effort  he  is  going  to  make. 
His  stride  and  "take  off"  are  automatic.  And 
so  with  horses.  No  horse  can  jump  his  best  if 
he  is  constantly  changing  his  legs. 

So  that  before  we  raise  our  rail  we  should  be 
quite  sure  that  our  horse  can  canter  over  them 
"true  and  united"  on  either  rein  at  will.  We 
must  also  assure  ourselves  that  they  approach  the 
rail  without  rushing,  that  they  canter  up  in  a 
perfectly  collected  manner  until  within  thirty  feet 
or  so  of  it,  and  then  increase  their  pace  slightly, 
entirely  at  the  will  of  the  rider,  and  take  off  when 
given  the  "  office,"  and  so  jump  off  their  hocks  in 
every  case.     There  should  be  no  sign  of  fretting  or 

H 


98  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

anxiety  on  the  horse's  part.     What  is  necessary 
first  is  complete  tranquilUty. 

When  this  standard  has  been  reached  by  constant 
and  daily  exercise,  then  the  rail  can  be  raised.  As 
we  raise  the  rail,  so  we  decrease  the  number  of 
times  we  jump  it.  As  I  have  said,  fifty  times  a 
day  is  not  too  much  for  a  low  rail,  say  two  feet  high, 
but  ten  jumps  at  four  feet  six  inches  is  probably 
quite  sufficient,  and  this  height  should  seldom  be 
used.  If  a  horse  can  jump  four  feet  perfectly, 
then  his  training  is  practically  complete.  The  rest 
is  simple.  At  least  it  is  simple  as  far  as  the  horse 
is  concerned,  but  every  inch  undoubtedly  increases 
the  difficulty  for  the  rider,  for  reasons  that  have 
been  explained  in  the  last  chapter. 

And  as  the  rider  requires  as  much  practice  as 
the  horse,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  jump  a  good  deal 
at  four  feet  six,  and  sometimes — just  now  and 
again — five  feet,  if  we  feel  inclined  that  way.  In 
fact,  I  advocate  it  strongly,  because  once  we  are 
accustomed  to  jumping  big,  stiff  fences  in  our 
paddock  or  riding  school,  it  is  surprising  how  it 
helps  us  in  the  hunting  field.  Fences  that  looked 
so  formidable  before,  become  quite  simple,  and 
with  our  increased  confidence  we  long  to  jump 
what  before  we  had  looked  upon  as  too  stiff. 

Everything  has  an  entirely  different  perspective. 
Even  the  "  national  "  fences  lose  their  forbidding 
aspect. 

And  when  we  learn  with  what  ease  a  horse 
can  jump  four  feet  six,  and  clear  perhaps  twenty 
feet  in  doing  so,  and  when  we  have  learnt  how  easy 
it  is  to  sit  him  as  he  does  so,  then  we  can  go  out 


TRAINING  99 

hunting  knowing  that  there  is  Httle  that  can  stop 
us;  we  can  walk  round  our  next  point-to-point 
course  without  that  "sinking"  feeUng  as  we 
inspect  the  "  awesome  "  fences,  and  riding  assumes 
a  level  to  which  we  had  never  before  either  expected 
or  hoped  to  attain. 

In  our  training  we  require  no  devices  for  making 
horses  lift  their  legs,  no  whips  to  urge  them  on,  or 
spurs  to  keep  them  straight.  The  cure  is  firstly 
to  lower  the  rail,  and  secondly  to  blame  ourselves. 
Horses  usually  rap  a  rail  because  the  rider  is  wrongly 
placed  in  the  saddle ;  they  refuse  because  they 
lack  confidence  (or  exercise),  or  because  the  rider 
is  at  fault. 

After  having  insured  the  jumping  of  the  simple 
rail,  it  is  then  our  business  to  introduce  variety — 
to  train  the  horse  to  jump  ditches,  doubles,  water, 
drop  fences,  walls,  in  and  outs,  fences  with  ditches 
on  the  far  and  on  the  near  side,  and  (for  hunters 
in  particular)  blind  ditches.  But  once  we  have 
mastered  the  post  and  rail  of  four  feet  high,  all  the 
remainder  can  be  taught  with  great  facility  and 
rapidity. 

There  is  only  one  word  of  warning  I  would  give, 
and  that  is — avoid  sore  shins.  Never  jump  on 
hard  ground,  and  if  a  horse  suddenly  starts  refusing 
for  no  apparent  reason,  have  his  shoes  off  at  once 
and  look  for  corns ;  and  do  not  start  blaming  the 
horse  and  punishing  him  with  the  whip,  but  realize 
that  horses,  too,  have  feelings  and  reasons  for  what 
they  do. 

The  jumping  capacity  of  a  horse  is  very  wonder- 
ful, and  by  careful  training  there  is  hardly  a  fence 


100  HINTS  ON  HORSEIMANSHIP 

in  England  which  is  beyond  the  capacity  of  a 
schooled  jumper  with  natural  ability.  I  remember 
measuring  the  leap  a  horse  of  mine  once  made 
without  apparent  effort,  and  out  of  a  hand  canter. 
A  rail  four  feet  six  inches  was  cleared  in  height, 
and  twenty-seven  feet  in  distance.  I  believe  a 
horse  has  been  kno^\'n  to  jump  eight  feet  in 
height,  while  the  longest  accredited  jump  is 
thirty-seven  feet.  Taking  such  known  capacity 
into  consideration,  the  biggest  fence  in  the  hunting 
field  is  small  in  comparison.  There  is  hardly 
a  ditch  in  Meath  broader  than  twelve  feet  across 
from  bank  to  bank,  and  yet  what  a  formidable 
obstacle  it  looks  !  But  a  bold  horse  that  was 
trained,  and  ridden  by  a  bold  rider,  could 
negotiate  such  a  jump  as  this  without  difficulty. 
But  to  develop  the  courage  of  a  horse,  he  should 
never  know  what  a  fall  is.  By  this,  I  do  not  mean 
that  he  shouldn't  be  allowed  to  stumble  into  a 
blind  ditch  to  teach  him  caution,  but  that  he 
should  never  be  overfaced.  By  small  beginnings, 
and  very  slow  advances,  his  courage  and  confidence 
can  be  built  up.  He  not  only  requires  confidence 
in  himself,  but  also  in  his  rider.  He  must  get  to 
know  by  long  experience  that  he  is  never  asked  to 
perform  what  is  beyond  his  powers,  and  if  jumping 
has  always  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to  him,  and 
not  of  pain,  then  he  will  not  fail  when  put  to  a 
supreme  test.  I  think  I  am  right  in  sajing  that 
the  biggest  jumps  are  made  by  four-year-old  horses. 
They  are  full  of  the  vigour  and  courage  of  youth, 
and  have  not  learnt  to  fear  a  fall.  The  older  they 
get  the  more  "  canny  "  they  become,  because  they 


TRAINING  101 

have  learnt  to  know  how  painful  is  a  rap  over  the 
shins  when  jumping  a  stiff  post  and  rails,  and  how 
sharp  and  prickly  is  a  well-laid  stake  and  bound. 
But  if  the  o^vner  is  wise  he  will  not  allow  them  to 
test  the  strength  of  timber,  or  the  sharpness  of  a 
stake,  except  in  the  very  early  stages  of  training 
when  the  obstacle  is  extremely  small  and  un- 
alarming.  Never  allow  your  horse  to  make  a 
mistake  if  it  can  possibly  be  avoided;  a  mistake 
means  that  the  progression  has  been  too  fast. 
Only  ask  him  to  jump  what  you  know  he  can  do 
without  a  mistake,  no  matter  if  a  rail  has  to  be 
lowered  to  a  foot  off  the  ground. 

There  is  one  more  point :  I  do  not  believe  in 
"  brush"  fences  for  training.  They  only  teach  a 
horse  to  be  sloppy  in  his  jumping,  and  he  soon 
gets  into  the  habit  of  going  through  as  much  as  he 
can.  Still  less  do  I  agree  with  furze.  No  one 
expects  a  horse  to  clear  a  furze  fence,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  we  know  that  he  will  go  through  the 
greater  part  of  it.  Now,  how  can  one  expect 
jumping  to  be  attractive,  if  every  time  he  is  pricked 
all  over,  and  returns  to  his  stable  more  like  a 
porcupine  than  a  horse  ?  The  best  form  of  jump 
is  the  stiff  rail  which  can  be  lowered  or  raised  at 
will,  and  for  all  early  training  purposes  none  other 
is  required. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  training,  there  is 
still  one  point  I  ^vish  to  refer  to.  When  out 
hunting,  the  obstacle  that  frightens  people  more 
than  anything  else  is  a  blind  ditch  on  the  take-off 
side.  If  a  rider  is  on  an  untrained  horse,  he  has 
every  justification  for  his  dislike  of  this  form  of 


102  HINTS  ON  HORSEIMANSHIP 

fence.  But  on  a  trained  horse  there  is  no  difficulty 
at  all.  From  what  I  see,  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  trained  hunter  is  an  astonishingly- 
rare  animal.  Hunting  people  generally  are  satis- 
fied vnih  far  too  low  a  standard,  and  make  little, 
if  any,  effort  at  home  to  improve  their  cattle.  If 
a  horse  is  described  as  a  "good  hunter"  either 
in  the  sale-ring  or  dealer's  yard,  they  appear  to 
accept  that  as  final,  and  make  no  effort  to  improve 
them.  In  this  particular  instance  it  is  very  easy 
to  overcome  the  difficulty,  far  easier  than  people 
suppose.  It  only  requires  a  fence  rigged  up  in  the 
paddock  at  home,  with  a  shallow  ditch  in  front 
blinded  by  brambles.  If  the  services  of  a  rough 
rider  can  be  obtained  (which  can  usually  be  done 
without  difficulty)  the  best  way  is  to  ride  the 
horse  over  the  fence,  and  teach  him  how  uncom- 
fortable and  unpleasant  it  is  to  put  his  feet  into  the 
brambles.  A  safer  but  not  quite  so  satisfactory 
a  way  is  to  lounge  him  over.  A  horse  who 
has  experienced  only  once  or  twice  such  an 
obstacle  will  avoid  all  brambles  on  the  take-off 
side  for  the  future  like  the  devil  does  holy  water. 
There  need  be  no  risk  to  either  horse  or  rider,  as 
the  ditch,  as  a  start,  can  be  quite  a  shallow  one, 
and  it  can  be  increased  in  depth  at  will  according 
to  circumstances.  In  this  way,  by  just  taking 
a  modicum  of  trouble,  we  can  increase  our  enjoy- 
ment and  security  when  out  hunting  to  a  very 
appreciable  extent. 

There  is  yet  one  more  point  before  finally  closing 
this  chapter.  The  so-called  trained  hunter  is  more 
often  than  not  very  troublesome   to  moimt.     A 


TRAINING  108 

horse  that  has  never  had  any  training  in  this  small 
point  always  arranges  himself  so  that  he  is  on  the 
crest  of  the  road,  or  the  upper  side  of  a  slope, 
and  that  at  the  moment  of  mounting  his  rider  is 
on  the  'down"  side.  This  makes  a  very  con- 
siderable difference  for  mounting.  If  he  is  only 
two  inches  up,  and  you  are  two  inches  down,  it 
represents  a  whole  hand  in  height.  It  virtually 
turns  a  horse  of  15*3  to  16-3,  and  as  the  variation 
in  slope  is  often  greater  than  this,  it  is  frequently 
like  a  question  of  trying  to  mount  a  nineteen- 
hand  horse  without  a  mounting  block.  Very 
often  there  is  a  handy  heap  of  stones  by  the 
roadside  which  would  make  a  most  convenient 
one.  But  our  "good  hunter"  absolutely  refuses 
to  allow  you  to  mount  him  therefrom,  and  we  have 
to  jeopardize  our  breeches  buttons  in  an  apoplectic 
effort  to  mount  this,  now,  gigantic  animal  from  the 
muddy  gutter  of  the  roadway.  On  the  top  of 
this,  he  often  won't  stand  still  long  enough  to  allow 
you  to  get  your  foot  into  the  stirrup  iron.  We 
keep  the  recording  angel  busy  under  circumstances 
such  as  these,  and  when  at  last  we  are  safely  in 
the  saddle,  we  as  likely  as  not  vent  our  wrath  by 
jabbing  him  in  the  mouth,  and  calling  him,  well  ! 
what  you  do  call  a  horse  when  you  are  in  a  bad 
temper. 

These  small  trials  and  tribulations  can  be  easily 
overcome  by  training  and  a  little  patience.  Firstly, 
in  the  stable  always  mount  from  the  mountingblock, 
and  also  teach  the  horse  to  stand  in  a  gutter  or  drain. 
Never  mount  him  until  he  is  perfectly  still.  Let  the 
groom  hold  him,  and  talk  to  him  and  pat  him  until 


104  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

that  tranquillity  is  attained.  Then  put  your  foot 
in  the  stirrup,  and  insist  that  there  shall  be  still  no 
movement.  When  this  is  attained,  increase  the 
weight  on  the  stirrup,  and  then  place  yourself 
gently  in  the  saddle.  No  movement  of  any  sort 
should  be  allowed  on  the  horse's  part  until  you  have 
adjusted  your  reins,  got  both  feet  in  the  irons, 
pulled  your  coat  doTvn,  and  are  in  all  respects 
ready  to  start.  Then  let  the  groom  stand  away, 
and  still  let  there  be  no  movement.  The  trained 
horse  will  never  move  imtil  he  is  given  the  office 
from  the  rider,  and  horses  that  do  not  so  behave 
themselves  cannot  be  considered  trained.  It  is 
all  so  easy  to  do.  It  takes  a  little  time,  perhaps, 
especially  with  old  horses  that  have  got  into  bad 
habits,  but  it  is  time  well  spent,  and  worth  every 
minute  of  it.  There  is  nothing  new  in  this,  it  is 
all  as  old  as  the  hills,  but  in  these  busy  days  people 
are  apt  to  forget  the  ^visdom  of  the  past,  or  to 
remember  that  our  fathers  and  grandfathers  were 
also  men  of  experience  and  knowledge.  If  they 
did  happen  to  live  "  slower  "  than  we  do,  it  is  all 
the  more  certain  that  what  they  did  know  was  more 
thorough,  and  in  many  cases  more  sensible  than 
the  youth  of  the  present  day  would  have  us  believe. 
One  final  word,  ^^^len  preparing  your  jumps 
in  the  paddock,  it  is  important  to  take  a  little 
trouble  with  the  ground  on  the  take-off  and  land- 
ing side.  A  good  tip  is  to  dig  it  all  up  first,  lay 
fascines,  and  then  cover  them  over  and  batten  well 
down.  This  will  ensure  good  drainage,  so  that  your 
jumping  can  be  continued  in  nearly  all  weathers. 


BRIDLING 

In  the  army,  and  in  all  places  where  riding-school 
instruction  is  given,  "bridling"  is  thoroughly 
understood  and  taught.  But  in  hunting  circles 
it  is  looked  upon  as  unnecessary.  I  do  not 
mean  that  it  is  universally  neglected,  because 
there  are  many  hunting  men  who  do  realize  its 
importance,  but  I  think  it  is  an  undoubted  fact 
that  a  very  preponderating  majority  of  hunting 
people  disregard  this  important  side  of  horseman- 
ship. If  we  ride  to  the  meet  on  a  horse  that 
bridles  well  and  is  balanced  in  all  his  paces,  we 
are  called  faddists.  The  general  tendency  is  to 
laugh  at  those  who  train  their  horses  to  balance, 
bridle  and  bend,  as  being  obsessed  by  the  foolish 
dictums  of  the  riding  master,  and  wasting  their 
time  in  "  circus  "  tricks  and  fanciful  haute  ecole. 
The  horse  is  described  as  "  peacocky,"  and  the 
rider  as  unpractical  and  un-English. 

Public  opinion  is  so  strong  that  many  young 
men  who  have  experienced  the  pleasures  of  riding 
a  balanced  horse,  and  who  would  like  to  continue 
doing  so,  give  it  up  when  riding  to  hounds,  and 
actually  fear  to  be  seen  making  a  horse  bridle  in 
the  hunting  field.     It  is  a  good  many  years  ago 

105 


106  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

now,  but  I  remember  once  getting  a  very  handsome 
chestnut  mare,  who  had  a  beautiful  neck  and  good 
forehand.  A  mare  that  was  made  for  "  bridling," 
and  who  would  have  been  a  joy  to  ride  under  such 
conditions.  My  first  inclination  was  to  put  her 
into  the  riding  sch6ol  and  make  her  into  a  "charger." 
But  in  those  days  I  was  not  sufficiently  experienced 
to  disregard  the  opinions  of  those  who  had  hunted 
longer  than  I,  and  who,  as  I  then  thought,  knew 
all  there  was  to  know  about  what  a  hunter  should 
be  and  should  be  capable  of  doing.  "  Surely  you 
ain't  going  to  mess  her  about  with  bending  and 
figures  of  eight  and  all  that  sort  of  rubbish,  are 
you?  Take  her  out  and  let  her  learn  to  cross  a 
country  naturally.  Leave  the  poor  brute  alone, 
and  don't  go  eternally  messing  about  with  '  right 
shoulder  in  '  and  those  silly  riding-school  tricks. 
Leave  her  head  alone  and  she  will  leave  you  alone. 
We  don't  want  to  see  any  of  your  peacocky  circus 
horses  out  with  hounds,"  etc.,  etc.,  were  the  remarks 
that  were  made.  The  result  was  that  I  never  put 
her  into  riding-school  work  at  all.  I  rode  her 
continuously  for  nine  seasons,  and  every  year  I 
regretted  the  ad^dce  more  and  more  that  I  had 
been  given. 

I  cannot  believe  that  people  who  argue  in  this 
way  can  have  ever  experienced  the  pleasure  of 
riding  a  well-balanced  horse.  I  believe  the  hunting 
public  (I  speak  of  the  majority)  know  very  little 
about  it. 

If  we  stand  on  the  roadside,  and  watch  the  field 
arriving  at  the  meet,  what  do  we  see  ?     A  great 


BRIDLING  107 

number  are  being  conveyed  (I  can  use  no  other 
word)  along  with  long  reins,  their  horses'  noses  and 
necks  stuck  out  straight  in  front.  They  are  not 
riding  to  the  meet,  they  are  being  taken  there. 
There  is  little  pleasure  in  such  a  form  of  exercise, 
and  there  is  no  skill. 

The  training  of  horses  and  men  are  singularly 
alike.  Before  we  can  get  a  man  obedient  to  the 
word  of  command  he  must  be  drilled.  We  have 
to  get  him  balanced  before  he  can  move.  "  The 
exact  squareness  of  the  shoulders  and  body  to  the 
front  is  the  first  position  of  a  soldier  .  .  .  the 
weight  of  the  body  must  be  on  the  fore  part  of 
the  feet,"  and  until  we  get  him  in  that  position 
he  is  incapable  of  carrying  out  commands  quickly 
and  well.  Imagine  trying  to  get  a  ploughman, 
who  was  in  the  habit  of  standing  with  his  back 
rounded  and  feet  far  apart,  his  chin  stuck  forward, 
and  his  hands  awkwardly  placed,  to  ''  about  turn  " 
smartly  on  the  word  of  command.  We  know  it 
would  be  impossible.  Before  he  could  execute 
the  movement  we  should  have  to  get  him  to  stand 
in  the  "  first  position  "  before  anything  else.  But 
once  he  was  standing  properly  to  attention  he 
could  move  in  any  direction  we  wanted  without 
any  difficulty  or  delay.  And  so  it  is  with  a  horse. 
Once  we  have  him  "  balanced,"  he  is  in  a  position 
to  obey  the  leg  and  rein,  and  to  move  in  any  direc- 
tion at  our  slightest  wish.  As  it  is  right  that  a 
man  should  stand  and  walk  with  his  shoulders 
back  and  his  head  erect,  so  it  is  right  that  a  horse 
should  move  collected.     "Deportment"  used  to 


108  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

be  an  important  branch  of  our  children's  education, 
and  should  be  so  still,  did  parents  do  their  duty. 
If  horsemen  did  their  duty  they  would  take  similar 
trouble  with  their  horses.  Personally,  I  do  not 
think  a  horse  is  worth  riding  that  has  not  been  so 
trained.  A  long  hack  is  a  wearisome  affair  on  a 
horse  that  has  never  been  taught  "  the  aids,"  and 
who  resents  the  pressure  of  the  leg  and  rein.  But 
no  hack  is  too  long  on  a  horse  that  has  been  properly 
taught  to  carry  himself.  Every  step  is  a  delight, 
and  the  pride  of  satisfaction  diffuses  itself  to  every 
passer-by,  who,  we  feel,  cannot  but  help  admire 
the  beauty  of  the  complete  unison  between  horse 
and  rider,  and  the  beautiful  cadence  of  balanced 
action. 

Not  only  is  this  matter  important  as  a  means  of 
adding  to  our  pleasures  when  hacking  to  the  meet, 
but  it  is  equally  so  from  the  practical  point  of 
view  of  assisting  us  throughout  the  day.  The 
s^vinging  gate,  the  kicking  horse,  the  j ostler  and 
the  motor-car  can  be  avoided  more  easily  when 
riding  a  trained  horse  than  when  on  one  who  does 
not  answer  immediately  to  the  pressure  of  the  leg. 
When  hounds  are  moving  fast,  he  can  be  better 
controlled.  He  may  be  keen,  but  "pulling"  is 
unknown.  He  can  be  always  stopped  in  a  moment, 
and  his  jumping  should  be  cleaner  and  safer.  In 
fact,  in  every  respect  he  is  a  better  horse.  If  these 
things  are  so  (and  I  do  not  think  there  are  many 
who  will  not  admit  it),  then  why  shouldn't  we  take 
more  trouble  over  the  matter  than  we  have  done 
in  the  past?     Many  people  are  prepared  to  pay, 


BRIDLING  109 

and  do  pay,  very  high  prices  for  trained  hunters. 
But  are  they  really  trained  ? 

Some  horses,  we  know,  bridle  naturally,  but 
hundreds  of  so-called  trained  hunters  are  sold  who 
have  never  had  a  day's  teaching  in  these  matters 
of  such  vital  importance  in  a  horse's  education. 
If  I  were  a  rich  man  I  would  never  ride  a  horse 
that  hadn't  learnt  to  carry  himself,  and  I  feel  sure 
that  if  hunting  people  once  realized  the  advantages 
and  pleasures  of  riding  such  horses,  they  would 
take  good  care  that  none  others  entered  their 
stables,  provided  they  could  afford  to  buy  what 
they  wanted. 

I  do  not  mean  it  to  be  supposed  that  I  expect 
every  member  of  a  hunt  to  arrive  at  the  meet  on 
perfectly  broken  "  chargers."  Such  an  idea  would 
be  ridiculous  and  grotesque.  But  what  I  do  mean 
is  that  the  idea  of  riding  a  balanced  horse  to  hounds 
should  be  considered  as  the  right  thing,  that  it 
should  be  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  just  pride 
and  satisfaction,  and  that  it  should  not  be,  as 
at  present,  regarded  as  both  unnecessary  and 
unpractical. 


"HANDS"   AND   OTHER  MATTERS 

*'  Hands  " 

This  is  a  very  interesting  subject,  and  one  upon 
which  there  may  be  many  diverse  opinions.  I  hope, 
however,  that  the  following  ideas  may  bring  the 
matter  into  clearer  focus,  even  though  my  readers 
may  not  entirely  agree  with  me. 

We  are  always  told  that  hands  are  born,  not 
made,  and  the  dictum  is  accepted,  as  axiomatic. 
But  an  axiom,  according  to  Euclid,  is  a  statement 
the  truth  of  which  is  so  obvious  that  no  proof  is 
possible. 

This  is  certainly  not  the  case  with  "  hands." 
If  it  were  true  it  could  be  shown  that  no  one  could 
possess  "  hands "  unless  they  had  the  gift  in- 
tuitively. In  which  case  they  would  be  equally 
good  at  the  first  effort  in  the  saddle  as  at  the  last. 
If  a  recruit,  after  his  first  ride,  were  to  ask  the 
rough  rider,  "Have  I  got  good  hands?"  I  can 
leave  it  to  my  readers  to  imagine  what  his  reply 
would  be.  Whatever  it  might  be,  I  think  it  w^ould 
be  safe  to  assume  that  it  would  be  unprintable. 
It  requires  but  little  reflection  to  disclose  the 
fallacy  of  such  a  statement.  And  yet  it  is  widely 
believed.     An  imtruth  often  is  masked  under  the 

110 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     111 

cloak  of  repetition.  "  I  have  said  it  three  times, 
and  therefore  it  is  true,"  is  humorous  because  it 
contains  an  underlying  sophism.  In  this  case  there 
is  no  truth  in  it,  even  though  it  has  been  repeated 
often.  The  reverse  is  indeed  the  case,  for  hands 
are  made.  They  are  only  born  in  so  far  that  any 
man  who  possesses  balance,  confidence  and  sym- 
pathy, possesses  the  potentialities  of  "  hands." 
Education  and  practice  should  do  the  rest. 

When  a  man  is  jumping  a  fence,  and  jabs  his 
horse  in  the  mouth,  he  does  so  because  he  is  im- 
balanced,  and  at  that  moment  has  bad  hands. 
But  when  not  jumping  he  might  have  splendid 
"  hands."  Or,  again,  a  horse  shies  suddenly,  and 
the  rider,  in  order  to  prevent  himself  from  falling, 
hangs  on  to  its  head.  At  that  moment  his  hands 
are  extremely  bad,  for  the  sole  reason  that  the 
rider  is  off  his  balance.  But  directly  he  has 
recovered  himself  he  may  resume  riding  with 
perfect  "  hands."  So  that  it  is  clear  that  first 
and  foremost  the  question  must  be  regarded  as 
one  of  balance.  The  next  consideration  is  that  of 
confidence.  A  man  is  considered  to  have  bad 
hands  if  he  is  always  "  niggling  "  a  horse's  mouth 
as  he  approaches  a  fence.  (This  is  a  very  common 
reason  for  a  horse  refusing.)  The  reason  for  his 
doing  this  is  purely  from  a  lack  of  confidence.  A 
man  who  is  riding  a  keen  horse  that  is  going  faster 
than  he  wishes,  however  good  his  hands  may  be 
on  a  quieter  mount,  if  he  lacks  the  confidence 
necessary  to  deal  with  the  matter,  will  start 
holding  him  tighter.     As  his  confidence  decreases, 


112        HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

his  grip  on  the  reins  increases,  and  he  ceases  to  be 
riding  with  "  good  hands." 

Why  is  it  that  some  horses  go  so  well  with  some 
men  and  not  with  others  ?  This  is  largely  a  matter 
of  confidence.  For  example,  a  horse  rears  or 
shows  temper  when  leaving  the  stable.  A  nervous 
rider  starts  "niggling"  and  makes  the  matter 
worse.  A  bold  rider  gives  him  his  head,  a  kick 
in  the  ribs,  or  perhaps  merely  speaks  to  him,  and 
touches  him  with  his  crop  on  the  shoulder,  and 
the  trouble  is  at  an  end.  The  whole  thing  is 
entirely  a  matter  of  confidence,  in  cases  of  this 
sort. 

Finally,  sjmapathy  is  necessary.  Sympathy  is 
a  virtue  that  embraces  amongst  others  that  of 
patience.  It  is  necessary  to  understand  sym- 
pathetically the  desires,  and  sufferings,  the  eager- 
ness, and  even  the  thoughts  of  the  animal  one 
rides. 

Directly  a  man  becomes  irritated  and  jabs  his 
horse  in  the  mouth,  he  possesses  bad  hands  at  that 
moment,  however  good  they  may  be  on  other 
occasions.  Therefore,  for  all  horses  to  go  well 
with  us  on  every  occasion,  we  must  be  possessed  of 
these  three  gifts,  and  when  we  have  them  we  have 
hands  in  the  making.  Therefore  it  can  be  seen 
that  "  hands  "  are  merely  a  question  of  experience. 
Balance  can  be  taught,  confidence  can  be  instilled, 
and  sympathy  grows  daily  with  experience  and 
knowledge.  To  know  all  is  to  forgive  all,  and  the 
more  we  know  the  more  we  are  ready  to  forgive 
both  with  men  and  horses. 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     113 

Sometimes  horses  do  not  go  so  well  with  us  as 
usual.  Keep  jogging  when  we  want  them  to 
walk,  or  throwing  their  heads  about,  or  "  yawing  " 
constantly.  These  so-called  faults  are  not  cured 
by  a  jab  in  the  mouth,  but  by  thinking.  Perhaps 
the  bit  is  imcomfortable,  or  a  shoe  is  pinching,  or 
the  girth  is  too  tight,  perhaps  he  hasn't  had  enough 
exercise,  or  the  saddle  is  touching  the  withers. 
So  we  should  look  to  these  things.  Then  the  world 
will  say,  "  What  splendid  hands  he  has,  every  horse 
goes  so  well  with  him." 

Thus,  we  see,  there  is  no  mystery  about  it ;  there 
is  nothing  a  child  cannot  understand.  Balance,  con- 
fidence and  sympathy,  these  three,  make  up  the 
gift  of  hands,  and  there  is  nothing  more  in  it  to 
think  of  or  to  wonder  at. 

The  education  of  "  hands  "  is,  however,  quite 
another  matter.  A  man  may  be  born  a  natural 
artist,  but  without  constant  training  and  practice 
his  work  will  be  of  little  value.  So  with  riding, 
however  natural  a  rider's  gifts  may  be,  he  will 
never  become  a  fine  horseman  without  a  great  deal 
of  experience.  My  point  is  that  I  believe  the  so- 
called  gift  of  hands  is  far  more  common  than 
people  suppose.  It  is  the  education  which  is  lacking, 
not  the  capacity  in  a  very  great  number  of  cases. 

People  sometimes  ask  me  how  it  is  that  good 
hands  sometimes  means  playing  delicately  upon  a 
horse's  mouth  at  every  stride,  and  yet  a  rider  is 
called  good  who  keeps  his  hands  still.  This  may 
sound  paradoxical,  and  yet  the  reply  is  a  very 
simple  one.  At  all  slow  paces,  the  walk,  collected 
I 


114  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

trot,  and  collected  canter,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
give  and  take  at  every  stride,  and  play  upon  the 
horse's  mouth  like  on  the  keys  of  a  piano; 
but  at  the  faster  paces,  the  gallop,  and  the 
jump,  the  hands  should  be  motionless.  In  jump- 
ing, the  horse  must  feel  assured  of  complete  free- 
dom, and  if  on  approaching  a  fence  there  is  the 
slightest  movement  of  hand  or  wrist,  the  boldest 
horse  can  be  turned  into  a  confirmed  refuser. 
Here,  again,  it  is  a  question  of  confidence.  The 
rider  that  is  not  quite  sure  of  himself  starts 
"  niggling."  These  movements  are  usually  the 
involuntary  contraction  of  highly  strung  nerves, 
and  that  nervousness  is  passed  down  the  reins  to 
the  horse's  mouth,  and  from  thence  to  his  brain, 
quicker  than  any  wireless  message.  The  horse  is 
extremely  susceptible  to  the  slightest  suggestion  of 
fear  on  the  rider's  part,  and  that  is  why  a  horse 
will  jump  with  some  riders,  and  not  with  others. 
The  rule  is  quite  clear,  once  it  is  understood. 
Let  your  wrists  and  fingers  have  all  the  play 
necessary  for  a  sympathetic  feel  on  the  horse's 
mouth  at  all  slow  paces,  but  at  the  fast  paces,  and 
particularly  when  approaching  a  fence,  then  your 
hands  should  be  as  still  and  firm  as  a  rock. 


Mastery 

There  is  another  saying  which  is  often  mis- 
understood by  a  great  many  people.  "  You  must 
show  a  horse  that  you  are  master,  never  let  him 
defeat  you." 


•HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     115 

This  axiom,  good  enough  in  itself,  has  led  to  a 
great  deal  of  unnecessary  cruelty  and  misconcep- 
tion. We  must,  of  course,  be  master,  but  also  a 
great  deal  of  tact  is  necessary.  If  a  horse  refuses 
to  turn  round  to  the  right,  let  us  say,  then  turn 
him  round  to  the  left.  It  doesn't  matter,  as  long 
as  you  get  him  round.  We  can  remember  the 
incident,  and  cure  him  of  it  at  our  leisure  afterwards. 

If  he  won't  jump  a  certain  fence,  don't  persist 
in  putting  him  at  it,  with  whip  and  spur.  Take 
him  away,  and  rig  up  that  kind  of  fence  at  home, 
and  teach  him  to  jump  it,  kindly  and  quietly. 
That  is  all.  We  get  the  horse  to  do  what  we  want, 
in  time.  Tact  is  just  as  important  in  the  equine 
as  in  the  social  world.  Where  discipline  is  slackest, 
punishment  prevails.  The  good  leader  of  men  sees 
that  his  orders  are  carried  out,  but  he  controls 
by  studying  human  frailties,  and  pardoning  delin- 
quencies. So  with  the  good  horsemaster.  The  use 
of  the  whip  should  be  of  so  rare  an  occurrence  as 
to  be  almost  negligible.  I  would  like  to  say  that 
it  should  never  be  used,  but  I  admit  that  here  and 
there  we  do,  very  occasionally,  come  across  in- 
stances where  it  is  necessary.  These  occur  w^hen 
we  have  to  overcome  faults  due  to  bad  treatment 
or  bad  riding  in  the  past.  We  certainly  should 
never  require  a  whip  for  any  horse  we  had  broken 
ourselves.^ 

And  yet  how  often   we   see   the   whip  used  in 

1  Here,  reference  is  only  made  to  punishment.  The  whip 
used  to  tap  a  horse  on  the  shoulder,  etc.,  is,  of  course,  extremely 
useful. 


116  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

riding  schools,  and  in  the  hunting  field,  yes,  and 
racing  too.  This  latter  is  hardly  what  I  meant  to 
touch  upon  when  starting  this  subject,  but  I 
maintain  with  all  conviction  that  never  race  was 
won  yet  by  punishment.  A  touch  with  the  whip 
at  the  right  moment  often  saves  the  situation,  but 
punishment  never.  How  many  valuable  horses  are 
ruined  by  the  whip?  How  many  thousands  of 
pounds  are  lost  to  owners  every  year  by  its  means  ? 
And  yet  it  goes  on.  It  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
owners.  It  is  their  affair.  If  only  they  can  be 
got  to  realize  it,  it  would  stop  instantly.  So  let 
us  hope  that  some  who  may  read  these  few  lines 
will  pass  it  on. 

When  training  horses  we  sometimes  see,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  a  refusing  horse,  a  perspiring  rider, 
and  a  battered  whip.  But  has  he  succeeded  in 
getting  the  horse  to  jump?  He  has  generally 
to  admit  dismal  failure.  So  what  then  has  this 
punishment  done  ?  It  has  started  spoiling  the 
horse's  temper.  One  or  two  more  like  that,  and  the 
horse  is  ruined  for  life,  and  no  kind  treatment  will 
ever  bring  back  that  attractive  disposition  which 
nearly  every  horse  who  has  been  bred  in  the 
United  Kingdom  possesses  at  birth.  It  is  a  sad 
sight,  and  spoils  many  a  day's  enjoyment.  But 
the  reason  of  it  all  is  that  false  idea  of  mastery. 

I  tried  it  once  myself  twenty-five  years  ago,  when 
I  was  very  inexperienced.  It  failed  utterly,  and 
I  have  regretted  and  remembered  it  ever  since. 
Some  time  ago  I  tried  it  on  a  horse  who  was  in  the 
habit  of  refusing.     His   early  training  had  been 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     117 

faulty,  and  the  habit  had  become  chronic.  Once 
more  it  was  a  complete  failure,  and  did  much  more 
harm  than  good.  Kindness,  firmness  and  "  tact  " 
is,  I  am  sure,  the  way  to  master  and  be  master  of 
the  horses  we  want  to  train. 

Shying 

I  have  often  been  asked,  also,  what  are  the 
correct  "aids"  for  shying.  I  see  horses  ridden 
wrongly  so  often  on  these  occasions,  I  feel  it  is 
a  point  that  may  be  of  interest  to  many  of  my 
readers. 

If  left  to  himself,  a  horse  naturally  turns  his 
head  to  the  object,  and  in  doing  so  his  quarters 
fly  out  across  the  road.  The  result  being  that, 
instead  of  having  his  body  parallel  with  the  road, 
it  is  transverse  to  it. 

And  it  is  this  position  we  wish  to  avoid.  Many 
riders  accentuate  this,  in  believing  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  make  the  horse  look  at  the  object  at  which 
he  is  shying,  and  so  pull  the  inward  rein.  But 
this  is  the  wrong  way.  The  rider  should,  on  the 
contrary,  pull  the  outward  rein,  so  as  to  keep  the 
horse's  head  straight  in  the  direction  we  wish  him 
to  go,  and  put  a  strong  pressure  on  the  outward 
leg,  so  as  to  keep  his  quarters  from  flying  out. 
In  other  words,  supposing  the  object  happens  to 
be  on  the  left  of  the  road,  the  rider  should  pull 
the  right  rein,  and  close  the  right  leg,  the  object 
being,  throughout,  to  keep  the  horse  parallel  with 
the  sides  of  the  road  the  whole  time.  If  we  desire 
to  let  the  horse  have  a  good  look  at  the  object,  so 


118  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

that  he  may  learn  what  it  is,  turn  him  round, 
after  he  has  passed  it,  and  walk  him  up  to  it,  all 
the  time  being  careful  to  see  that  we  keep  him 
parallel  with  the  direction  we  wish  him  to  go,  and 
not  transverse  to  it. 

When  on  the  subject  of  shying,  there  is  one 
word  I  would  like  to  say,  and  that  is  in  reference 
to  stables.  The  best  kind  of  stables  are  loose 
boxes,  which  have  half -doors,  each  looking  out  into 
the  yard,  which  should  be  kept  open  the  whole 
day.  So  many  stables  are  so  built  that  a  horse 
has  nothing  to  do  but  to  stare  at  a  blank  wall  for 
twenty-two  hours  out  of  twenty-four  every  week- 
day, and  twenty-four  hours  out  of  twenty-four  on 
Sundays.  How  can  we  expect  much  intelligence 
from  animals  so  housed? 

But  with  those  stables  that  have  half -doors 
opening  on  to  the  yard,  directly  we  open  them, 
see  how  instantly  every  head  is  out !  Horses  so 
treated  seldom  shy  when  out.  They  become 
accustomed  to  the  ordinary  sights  which  are  the 
accompaniment  of  association  with  man,  such  as 
wheelbarrows,  hay  carts,  motors,  dogs,  and  bicycles, 
etc.,  etc.  Animals  accustomed  to  such  sights  and 
sounds  will  not  shy  at  a  heap  of  stones  on  the  road- 
side, or  even  a  motor-lorry  when  one  comes  along. 
It  is,  after  all,  only  a  matter  of  common  sense, 
and  yet  how  many  expensively  built  stables  have 
been  erected  where  these  principles  are  either  over- 
looked or  disregarded.  Even  in  those  stables  so 
built,  the  stud  groom  often  insists  on  keeping  the 
doors  shut,  for  fear  his  horses  should  lose  the  bloom 
on  their  coats.     And  yet,  it  is  of  such  importance 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER   MATTERS     119 

that  horses  should  be  allowed  to  look  out  !  They 
are  also  a  gregarious  race,  and  enjoy  being  able  to 
see,  and,  possibly  (who  knows?),  to  communicate 
with  each  other.  And  yet,  it  is  considered  right 
to  place  our  horses  in  solitary  confinement ! 

Personally,  were  I  building  stables,  I  would  not 
only  have  loose  boxes  looking  out  into  the  yard, 
but  I  would  have  railings  between  the  boxes,  along 
the  upper  half  of  the  partitions,  so  that  the  horses 
could  always  see  each  other,  and  know  that  they 
had  the  company  of  their  kind.  These  may  be  re- 
garded as  small  points,  but  I  believe  that  attention 
to  these  kind  of  details  repay  us  well.  I  have  often 
heard  people  say  the  horse  is  a  stupid  animal,  but 
what  do  we  do  to  cultivate  his  intelligence  ?  Per- 
sonally, I  do  not  consider  the  horse  a  stupid  beast. 
He  has  much  more  intelligence  than  people  believe. 
It  is  our  duty,  and  it  should  be  our  pleasure,  to 
develop  it  as  much  as  we  can. 

Bitting 

I  have  never  been  able  to  quite  understand  why 
so  much  attention  is  paid  to  this  subject.  We 
find  in  many  people's  stables  a  whole  armoury 
of  bits,  some  with  rough  mouthpieces,  some  with 
smooth,  some  with  joints  in  them,  and  some 
without.  Sliding  mouthpieces,  gags,  mohawks, 
Hanoverians,  pelhams,  and  snaffles  of  every  kind 
and  description. 

And  yet  what  is  it  all  for?  If  you  make  the 
horse  comfortable,  he  will  make  you  comfortable, 
is  an  excellent   rule,  and  it  is  obvious  that  the 


120  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

horse  is  not  made  comfortable  in  gags  or  instru- 
ments of  torture  like  Hanoverian  pelhams  and 
such- like.  Neither  can  bits  lessen  the  strength  or 
excitability  of  a  horse.  The  more  we  hurt  him 
the  more  we  increase  his  excitability,  and  the  more 
we  ruin  his  temper. 

If  one  cannot  ride  a  horse  with  comfort  in  an 
ordinary  double  bridle,  one  cannot  ride  him  better 
in  anything  else.  At  least  that  is  my  experience, 
and  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  it,  one  way  and 
another.  A  big  strong  horse  may  require  a  some- 
what longer  bar,  but  that  is  the  only  difference 
that  is  required.  There  is  some  curious  old  saying 
that  there  is  "  a  key  to  every  horse's  mouth," 
which,  being  interpreted,  means,  I  suppose,  that 
some  bit  somewhere  has  been  invented  that  will 
make  that  particular  horse  go  comfortably.  It  may 
be  so,  but  it  is  not  my  experience.  It  is  not  the 
bit  that  matters,  it  is  the  riding.  If  we  find  a 
horse  too  big  and  strong  for  us,  or  too  keen,  or  too 
fretful,  let  us  admit  it,  and  dispose  of  him  to 
some  one  who  may  like  him  better.  But,  for 
heaven's  sake,  do  not  go  on  trying  one  severe  bit 
after  another  in  the  hope  that  by  sheer  cruelty  we 
shall  be  able  to  force  him  to  do  our  will,  or  that 
we  shall  be  able  to  alter  his  character  through  the 
agency  of  pain.  If  we  train  ourselves  as  well  as 
train  our  horses,  we  shall  find  that  all  these  various 
devices  are  unnecessary,  and  that  the  proper  place 
for  all  these  wonderful  bits  is  not  the  stable,  but 
the  museum.  Some  people  are  much  exercised  if 
a  horse  puts  his  tongue  over  the  bit,  and  use  all 
sorts  of  devices  to  try  and  prevent  his  doing  so. 


*  HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     121 

I  have  never  found  any  of  these  effective  for  any 
length  of  time,  and  also  I  don't  mind  in  the  least 
if  he  does  put  his  tongue  over  the  bit.  I  don't  see 
that  it  matters.  He  will  put  it  back  again  when 
it  suits  him;  and  when  it  doesn't  he  won't.  But 
this  is  certain,  that  the  more  comfortable  he  is, 
the  less  excited  he  will  be  and  the  less  he  will  do 
it;  and  furthermore,  I  have  never  been  able  to 
tell  (without  looking)  whether  he  has  his  tongue  so 
placed  or  not.  And  if  that  is  the  case,  what  is 
there  to  bother  about  ? 

Of  course,  when  training  a  young  horse  we  must 
certainly  do  all  we  can  to  prevent  his  acquiring  the 
habit  of  getting  his  tongue  over  the  bit,  as  he  will 
never  acquire  a  good  and  delicate  mouth  if  he  does 
so.  But  I  am  not  referring  to  the  bitting  of  a 
young  horse.  I  am  thinking  of  the  conversations 
I  often  hear  in  the  hunting  field,  from  people  who 
are  chiefly  concerned  in  riding  horses  which  they 
have  bought  as  trained  hunters. 

No.  If  a  horse  doesn't  go  quietly  with  us,  let 
us  not  blame  the  horse,  but  ourselves.  Let  us  ask 
ourselves,  what  are  we  doing  wrong?  Possibly  a 
little  more  exercise  and  a  little  less  "  skof  "  for 
both  might  prove  beneficial,  but  a  stronger  and 
more  cruel  bit,  never.  Horses  often  merely  fight 
for  freedom  (like  mankind),  and  once  given  that 
freedom  will  go  quietly.  A  little  sympathy  and 
a  little  confidence  (which  is  two-thirds  of  the  gift 
of  hands)  will  do  more  than  all  the  bitting  devices 
in  the  world.  Away,  then,  with  your  gags,  and 
your  Hanoverians,  and  all  those  contrivances  only 
worthy  of  the  dark  ages,  and  let  us  stick  to  simple 


122  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

double  bridles, and  try  to  ride  a  little  better  ourselves 
before  we  blame  our  horses,  or  change  our  bits. 

If  a  horse  carries  his  head  too  low  when  galloping, 
I  find  the  best  solution  is,  not  to  ride  him  in  a  gag, 
but  to  let  him  have  his  head.  It  very  often  happens 
that  directly  he  finds  the  rider  isn't  going  to  carry 
his  head  for  him  he  raises  it  of  his  own  accord.  But 
if  he  insists  on  carrying  it  low,  it  is  probably  due  to 
conformation  or  a  confirmed  bad  habit,  and  no  bit 
will  improve  him. 

Snaffles 

Another  question  I  am  often  asked  is  whether 
it  is  right  to  ride  with  a  snaffle  only. 

I  do  not  think  it  can  ever  be  right  to  bit  a  horse 
in  this  way,  except  for  racing  and  exercise  with  a 
groom.  The  expression  "  a  perfect  snaffle  mouth  " 
is  often  seen  in  advertisements,  but  what  that 
means  I  do  not  know.  Nearly  every  horse 
can  be  controlled  in  a  snaffle,  if  the  rider  has 
sufficient  strength  to  do  so,  and  in  that  way  we 
can,  perhaps,  place  all  horses  in  that  category. 
But  if  it  means  that  the  horse  in  question  will 
bridle,  and  collect  himself  in  a  snaffle  just  as  well 
as  in  a  double  bridle,  then,  I  can  say,  I  have  never 
met  such  a  horse,  and  I  don't  expect  I  ever  shall. 
There  are  horses,  certainly,  that  have  extremely 
light  mouths,  and  too  light  indeed  for  many  riders, 
and  under  those  circumstances  it  is  better  for  them 
to  be  ridden  by  these  riders  in  snaffles.  But  for 
riders  who  possess  good  hands,  and  are  accom- 
plished   horsemen,    I    am    convinced    that    those 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     123 

horses  will  go  better  in  a  light  double  bridle,  like  a 
Ward-Union,  for  example.  I  consider  that  this  is 
the  best  all-round  bit,  and  is  quite  as  suitable  for 
the  lightest-mouthed  horses  as  for  horses  not  so 
delicately  fashioned. 

Standing  Martingales 

For  some  reason  people  are  averse  to  hunting, 
and  still  less  steeplechasing,  in  standing  martin- 
gales. It  is  supposed,  I  believe,  to  interfere  with 
the  horse  in  the  event  of  a  fall.  But  I  think 
this  idea  must  have  been  started  before  the  days 
of  photography,  because,  when  horses  fall,  they 
do  not  throw  their  heads  out,  but  tuck  them  in. 
And  I  have  never  met  an  instance  where  a  standing 
martingale,  adjusted  to  the  right  length,  has  or 
could  in  any  way  affect  a  horse  either  when  he 
jumped,  when  he  landed,  or  when  rising  from  a 
fall. 

Personally,  I  consider  they  are  the  only  martin- 
gales that  should  ever  be  used,  and  that  they 
should  be  always  worn.  Firstly,  because  they 
have  the  advantage  of  leaving  the  reins  free.  An 
ordinary  martingale,  whether  it  be  fixed  on  the 
snaffle  or  bit  reins,  interferes  very  considerably 
with  the  play  on  the  horse's  mouth,  and  prevents 
all  delicacy.  It  is  like  trying  to  play  the  piano 
with  a  duster  over  the  keys.  Also  the  running 
martingale  does  not  stop  a  horse  throwing  his  head 
up  as  high  as  he  chooses,  so  that  it  does  not  prevent 
the  rider  getting  an  occasional  bang  on  the  nose. 


124  HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

Secondly,  the  standing  martingale  does  keep  a 
horse  from  throwing  up  his  head  when  approaching 
a  fence. 

Keen  horses  have  a  knack  of  doing  this,  and  it 
is  often  difficult  to  get  their  heads  down  in  time 
for  the  "  take  off,"  and  many  a  fall  has  been 
occasioned  thereby. 

Thirdly,  it  prevents  a  horse  being  able  to  jerk 
the  reins  over  his  head.  This  occurs  quite  fairly 
often,  and  is  particularly  noticeable  when  going 
fairly  fast,  as  in  a  point-to-point,  when  some 
mistake  has  been  made.  The  horse  throws  up  his 
head  because  he  has  been  jabbed  in  the  mouth,  or 
from  some  other  cause,  and  the  rider  when  he  has 
re-established  himself  in  the  saddle  finds  his  reins 
both  on  the  same  side  of  the  horse's  neck. 

All  these  things  are  avoided  by  the  standing 
martingale,  and  as  they  do  not  interfere  in  any 
way  with  a  horse's  jumping,  I  have  often  wondered 
why  they  are  not  universally  adopted  in  place  of 
the  other  kind. 


Twisting  Stirrup  Leathers 

While  on  the  subject  of  saddlery,  here  is  a  little 
tip  which  is  useful.  Before  mounting  give  the 
stirrup  leathers  a  twist,  so  as  to  make  the  iron 
hang  at  right  angles  to  the  horse's  sides  instead  of 
of  parallel  to  them.  This  will  be  found  of  great 
assistance  if,  at  any  time,  one  happens  to  lose  an 
iron,  as  it  can  then  be  picked  up  on  to  the  foot 
without  any  difficulty. 


'HANDS'   AND  OTHER  MATTERS    125 


> 


Every  one,  even  the  best  riders,  loses  an  iron 
occasionally,  and  without  this  little  assistance  it 
is  sometimes  very  difficult  to  get  hold  of  the  iron 
again,  and  even  when  that  has  been  accomplished 
it  is,  as  often  as  not,  the  wrong  side.  It  is  a 
matter  that  can  be  done  in  a  moment.  Do  not 
do  it  by  merely  twisting  the  leather  round  and 
round,  but  do  it  by  taking  hold 
of  the  leather  just  above  the 
iron,  and  giving  it  one  sharp 
twist. 

So  that  before  mounting  one 
should  see  that  one's  stirrups 
hang  as  in  diagram  XI. 


A  Good   Leg  for  Riding 

I  think  that  nearly  every  one 
who  was  asked  what  a  good  leg 
for  riding  was,  would  say  that  it 
should  be  long  and  thin.  I  know 
that  when  we  see  a  man  with  a 
very  small  calf,  his  friends  speak 
of  it  with  admiration,  and  say 
"  what  a  splendid  leg  for  a  boot  he  has."  I 
think  we  all  know  of  many  men  who  have  large 
calves  who  deprecate  the  fact,  because  they  think 
they  haven't  got  a  good  riding  leg.  Certainly  a 
large  calf  doesn't  look  quite  so  well,  but,  I  think, 
their  owners  have  been  the  better  blessed  of  the 
two.     We  do  want  calves  in  riding  as  well  as  in 


Diagram  XI 


126  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

any  other  exercise,  and  I  feel  that  we  are  really 
on  wrong  lines  when  we  envy  the  man  without 
them.  On  the  contrary,  I  think  he  should  envy 
the  man  with  a  well-developed  leg,  because  the 
calf  is  of  great  assistance  in  every  way,  and  that 
a  good  leg  for  riding  is  not  necessarily  a  good  leg 
for  a  boot. 


Horse  Management 

Hitherto  I  have  purposely  avoided  any  dis- 
cussion on  horse  management,  because  it  is  a 
subject  that  is  thoroughly  well  known  in  Great 
Britain.  There  are  already  many  books  on  the 
subject,  and  it  would  require  a  far  abler  pen  than 
mine,  and  would  also  be  far  beyond  the  scope  of 
my  endeavours  to  deal  with  so  large  a  subject. 
My  only  idea  has  been  to  deal  with  horsemanship 
alone,  and  to  touch  lightly  upon  a  few  points  in 
which  dubiety  or  error  seem  to  hold  ground.  There 
are,  however,  a  few  matters  which  I  may  be  excused 
dealing  with.  They  are  just  some  random  notes 
which  may  be  of  interest.  Not,  perhaps,  of  any 
great  importance.  But  small  things  go  to  make  up 
the  happiness  of  horses  as  well  as  men.  The  first 
is  the  question  of  how  often  and  how  long  a  horse 
should  be  out  hunting.  Although  this  is  very  old 
gromid,  the  fact  that  I  so  often  see  the  principles 
broken  must  be  my  excuse,  and  I  write  in  the 
hope  that  even  though  the  subject  is  old,  there  is 
still  room  for  a  little  enlightenment,  or  at  any  rate 
originality  in  expression. 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER   METHODS     127 

Taking  an  ordinary  day's  hunting,  with  only  one 
horse  out,  a  horse  does  best  if  he  is  not  out  of  his 
stable  for  more  than  six  hours.  That  is  to  say, 
if  he  leaves  at  10  a.m.  he  should  be  back  again 
at  4  p.m.  If  this  is  done  systematically,  then 
that  horse  should  be  able  to  hunt  two  days  a  week 
regularly  with  a  rider  of  ordinary  weight.  He 
will  keep  hard  and  fit,  and  lameness,  apart  from 
accidents  and  constitutional  diseases  or  ailments, 
will  be   rare. 

It  is  well  known  that  horses  do  not  sprain  them- 
selves when  they  are  fresh,  it  is  only  when  they 
are  tired.  So  that  if  we  never  ride  a  tired 
horse,  we  should  seldom,  if  ever,  get  sprains. 
Personally,  I  do  not  understand  why  we  should 
w^ant  to  ride  a  horse  when  he  is  tired.  It  should 
be  no  pleasure,  and  it  is  dangerous.  Hunt  servants 
have  no  choice  in  the  matter,  but  I  speak  of  the 
free  members  of  a  hunt.  They  can  come  home 
when  they  wish,  and  it  is  unreasonable  for  them 
to  continue  with  hounds  when  there  should  be 
little  pleasure  in  doing  so.  So  that,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, their  aim  should  be  not  to  have  their  horses 
out  for  more  than  six  hours  at  a  time.  If  they 
carry  this  maxim  into  effect,  then,  as  I  have  said, 
they  could  reasonably  expect  to  hunt  their 
horses  two  days  a  wxek.  Let  us  suppose  they 
hunt  one  horse  on  this  system  on  Mondays  and 
Thursdays. 

Now,  supposing  on  a  certain  Monday  they  have 
kept  that  horse  out  seven  hours  instead  of  six. 
Then  he  is  not  fit  to  hunt  again  until  Friday.     If 


128  HINTS   ON  HORSEIVIANSHIP 

he  has  been  out  eight  hours  on  the  Monday,  then 
he  will  not  be  ready  till  the  following  Saturday. 
If  he  had  been  kept  out  ten  hours  on  the  Monday, 
then  he  would  not  be  fit  for  hunting  again  under 
a  week — or  until  the  Monday  following. 

To  put  this  statement  axiomatically  we  can  say, 
' '  A  horse  can  hunt  regularly  throughout  the 
season,  two  days  a  week,  provided  he  has  not  left 
his  stable  on  each  occasion  (under  ordinary  con- 
ditions) for  more  than  six  hours.  Every  hour  he 
is  out  over  and  above  those  six  hours,  defers  his 
hunting  capacity  by  one  day. 

This  is  only  a  little  rule  of  my  own.  I  do  not 
mean  to  lay  down  any  hard  law,  which  many 
may  disagree  with.  It  is  only  intended  to  help 
some  of  my  less  experienced  readers,  who  may  like 
to  know  of  a  good  working  rule  that  will  get  the 
most  out  of  their  horses  without  overtaxing  them. 

Drinking  when  Hot. — After  a  long  day's^hunting 
it  is  the  custom  not  to  let  a  horse  drink  but  a  few 
mouthfuls  on  his  way  home.  A  long  draught  is 
supposed  to  give  him  colic.  I  do  not  think  there 
is  any  reason  for  this  supposition.  Provided  we 
are  not  gomg  to  ask  him  for  any  further  efforts, 
I  do  not  think  there  can  be  any  objection  to 
lettmg  him  drink  as  much  as  he  likes. 

It  is  just  the  same  as  for  ourselves.  When  hot 
and  tired  after  a  strenuous  game  of  tennis,  most 
of  us  do  drink  copiously.  Just  as  much  as  we 
want,  in  fact.  But  if  we  had  not  finished,  and 
had  another  set  to  play,  then  it  would  be  most 
unwise   to   do   so.     And   so   with   horses.     If   we 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     129 

always  treat  them  with  the  same  rules  that  apply- 
to  our  own  comfort  and  health,  we  shall  never  be 
far  wrong.  So  that  when  we  have  finished  our 
day's  hunting,  or  concluded  our  polo,  then  they 
will  be  all  the  better  for  being  allowed  to  drink 
as  much  as  they  require. 

Rugs, — The  same  thing  applies  to  rugging  up. 
When  we  are  steaming  hot  after  our  tennis,  we 
don't  put  a  greatcoat  on  immediately,  when  the 
sight  of  it  is  actually  repulsive.  We  wait  a  few 
minutes  until  we  have  cooled  somewhat,  and  then 
put  on  warmer  clothes.  So  in  like  manner  is  it 
with  a  horse.  Do  not  rug  him  up  until  the  sweat 
on  him  is  beginning  to  turn  cold.  That  is  the  time 
for  rugs,  and  not  till  then.  I  often  think  how  a 
horse  must  hate  it,  when  really  hot,  to  have  a 
horribly  heavy  woollen  rug  thrown  over  him.  But 
as  he  is  unable  to  protest,  many  people  don't  quite 
realize  it. 

Bran  Mashes, — There  is  another  point  which  is 
grounded  deeply  into  all  grooms,  so  deeply  that  it 
will  perhaps  never  be  eradicated.  It  is  that  when- 
ever a  horse  comes  back  from  hunting,  he  must 
have  a  hot  drink,  followed  by  a  bran  mash.  This 
idea  is  only  of  importance  when  a  horse  comes 
back  exhausted,  which  (apart  from  hunt  servants) 
is  a  condition  they  should  be  seldom  in  with  good 
and  judicious  riding.  Of  course,  like  ourselves  if 
we  come  back  in  an  exhausted  condition,  a  horse 
requires  all  the  stimulant  possible,  and  his  diges- 
tion should  not  be  overtaxed  with  hard  corn.  But 
if  he  is  not  in  this  condition,  what  then?     Like 

K 


130  HINTS   ON  HORSEIVIANSHIP 

ourselves,  he  will  require  a  good  hearty  meal,  and 
as  far  as  my  horses  are  concerned,  I  always  see 
that  they  have  it.  I  also  believe  that  what  they  like 
best  on  return  to  the  stable  is  a  couple  of  bucketsful 
of  good  clear  water,  and  not  hot  meal  or  linseed 
and  water.  If  you  doubt  this  statement,  try  putting 
the  two  side  by  side  in  his  box  as  he  returns,  and 
see  which  he  will  choose.  Six  hours  under  the 
saddle,  under  ordinary  conditions,  is  not  exhausting 
to  a  horse.  If  he  is  in  hard  condition  it  is  little 
more  than  a  good  exercise.  And  if  that  is  admitted, 
why  treat  him  like  an  invalid  on  his  return  ?  It  is 
only  a  minor  point,  but  it  is  worth  thinking  over. 

Colic, — If  a  horse  shows  signs  of  colic,  walk  him 
about  and  never  let  him  lie  down.  This  rule  is 
universally  accepted.  It  seems  to  be  almost  the 
first  thing  anybody  ever  learns  about  stable  manage- 
ment. It  is  so  general  that  no  one  ever  seems  to 
have  questioned  its  value,  and  "  walking  about" 
is  sometimes  taken  as  the  necessary  recipe  for  other 
ailments  as  well,  and  some  people  even  have  been 
known  to  think  that  it  is  wTong  to  let  horses  lie 
dovm.  at  all.  I  remember  some  many  years  ago, 
wiien  I  w^as  the  orderly  officer,  I  w^as  going  round 
stables  and  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  the 
sentry.  On  meeting  him  eventually  in  one  of  the 
stalls,  I  asked  him  w^hat  he  had  been  doing.  "  Oh, 
sir,"  said  the  sentry,  a  young  recruit,  "  all  the 
horses  will  keep  lying  down,  and  it  takes  me  all 
my  tune  to  keep  poking  them  up  !  " 

He,  too,  had  heard  of  the  colic  rule,  and  like 
many  other  people,  had  misinterpreted  it. 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     131 

I  believe  that  if  a  horse  does  He  down  under 
the  pains  of  coUc,  the  chances  of  his  twisting  his 
intestines  are  so  remote  they  may  be  disregarded. 
But  still  the  custom  prevails,  and  is  the  cause  of 
a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  hardship  to  horses. 
I  know  that  if  a  human  being  has  pains  in  his 
stomach  he  lies  down  at  once,  and  would  be  very 
much  annoyed  if  some  one  were  to  come  and 
parade  him  up  and  down  his  room.  And  if  we 
treat  horses  as  we  do  ourselves  in  all  matters  of 
management,  we  shall  never  be  far  wrong,  and  I 
appeal  to  our  veterinary  surgeons  to  assist  us  in 
correcting  this  practice.  It  may  be  necessary 
sometimes  to  take  the  horse  away  from  a  stall 
where  he  might  get  hung  up,  but  where  this  has 
to  be  done,  he  should  be  led  to  the  nearest  grass 
spot,  and  be  allowed  to  lie  there  as  long  as  he 
chooses. 


Tails 

In  a  civilized  country  such  as  ours,  it  is 
lamentable  that  the  cruel  and  senseless  practice 
of  docking  horses'  tails  should  be  as  prevalent  as 
it  is.  That  it  is  cruel  is  too  obvious  to  need  com- 
ment. Every  one  who  orders  a  horse's  tail  to  be 
docked  must  know  that  he  is  not  only  inflicting 
terrible  pain,  but  also  that  he  is  depriving  the 
animal  he  affects  to  care  for  of  its  only  means 
of  protection  against  that  pest  of  flies  which  worry 
the  imfortunate  animal  throughout  all  the  summer 


132  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

and  autumn.  It  is,  therefore,  not  my  purpose  to 
labour  this  point.  No  one  except  a  madman 
would  mutilate  his  animals  without  an  object, 
and,  consequently,  it  is  this  aspect  of  the  question 
I  wish  to  discuss  with  my  readers  for  a  few  minutes. 
One  reason  is  that  it  is  supposed  to  set  off  a  horse's 
quarters,  and  make  him  look  "  smarter."  This  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  question  of  custom. 
How  very  odd  the  most  charmingly  dressed  lady 
of  to-day  would  look  were  our  eyes  attuned  to 
the  fashion  of  the  crinoline.  And  were  we  to 
take  our  docked  horses,  which  we  think  so 
smart,  to  Russia,  where  the  practice  of  docking 
is  non-existent,  they  would  excite  nothing  but 
ridicule.  As  we  ridicule  the  crinoline  as  an 
absurdity  of  our  grandparents,  so  we  should  to- 
day not  ridicule  but  rage  at  the  horse-o\vner  who 
mutilates  his  horses  for  his  own  gain  or  personal 
satisfaction. 

Another  reason  given  is  that  it  prevents  a  horse 
switching  his  tail  over  the  reins,  when  being  driven. 
But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  horse  with  a  short, 
stumpy  tail  is  far  more  likely  to  get  the  reins  under 
them  and  retain  them  there  than  if  he  has  a  long, 
flowing  tail.  But  unless  the  reins  are  raised  by  a 
rein-bracket  this  will  sometimes  occur  in  any  case. 
The  simple  and  obvious  remedy  is  to  provide  your 
trap  with  these,  if  it  doesn't  already  possess  them. 
To  put  this  solution  in  its  most  material  foim,  it 
is  cheaper  to  do  this  than  pay  a  veterinary  surgeon 
fees  for  docking. 

For  polo  ponies  it  is  sometimes  urged  that  a 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     133 

long  tail  gets  in  the  way  of  the  stick.  But  the 
obvious  answer  to  this  difficulty  is  to  plait  the  tail 
up  while  playing.  Not  only  that,  but  I  believe 
that  the  tail  is  necessary  for  a  polo  pony  in  helping 
it  to  turn  quickly. 

There  are,  therefore,  no  reasons  for  docking,  but 
there  are  many  against  it. 

A  horse  that  is  docked,  when  worried  by  flies  soon 
wears  his  feet  out  with  his  ineffectual  stamping, 
and  a  docked  horse  seldom  benefits  by  the  rest 
he  should  have  when  turned  out  to  grass.  He  is 
frequently  difficult  to  groom,  resenting  any  one 
approaching  or  touching  his  mutilated  tail,  and 
it  is  frequently  the  cause  of  a  horse  bolting  when 
in  harness. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  docking  strengthens 
a  horse's  back.  But  such  a  statement  is,  I  think, 
hardly  worth  considering.  It  is,  in  my  opinion, 
so  fallacious,  it  needs  but  little  consideration  to 
dismiss  it  as  absurd. 

As  all  true  horse -lovers  are  unanimously  against 
this  monstrous  and  useless  practice,  the  matter 
rests  with  us.  If  we  will  all  agree,  hunting  and 
driving  people,  polo  players,  owners,  trainers, 
show-ring  judges,  and  carthorse  owners,  never  to 
have  a  docked  horse  in  our  stables,  or  award  one 
a  prize  in  the  show-ring,  then  the  practice  would 
cease  instantly.  It  is  "  up  to  us,"  so  let  us 
start  here   and  now. 

I  can  hear  some  one  saying,  "  Oh,  yes,  that  is 
all  very  well,  but  some  horses  have  nasty  curly 
tails,  and  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  them? 


134  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

They  can  never  be  made  to  look  decent."  Quite 
so.  But  a  curly  tail  will  be  always  curly  whether 
it  is  docked  or  not.  The  solution  is  to  trim  it 
and  brush  it  more  carefully,  and  make  the  best 
of  it. 

This  brings  me  to  the  subject  of  pulling  tails, 
and  I  feel  I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words  about 
this ;  not  because  I  myself  am  as  nearly  well  qualified 
as  many  others  to  speak,  but  because  I  do  see  so 
many  people  riding  to  hounds  who  obviously  do 
not  know  how  a  tail  should  be  turned  out,  that 
perhaps  a  few  words  on  the  subject  will  not  be 
out  of  place. 

In  the  summer  time  the  tail  should  be  allowed  to 
grow  its  full  length,  but  in  mnter  it  is  better,  for 
keeping  it  out  of  the  mud,  to  have  it  well  shortened. 
It  should  firstly  be  remembered  that  the  thickest 
part  of  the  tail  should  be  its  end.  Not  thick 
in  the  middle  and  tapering  to  a  bedraggled  point, 
but  ending  square  and  full  thus  :— 


Diagram  XII 


When  the  horse  is  carrying  his  tail  the  end  should 
be  horizontal  as  shown.     In  order  to  attain  this, 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     135 

when  cutting  the  tail  the  Une  should  appear  to 
run  upwards  towards  his  ears  so : — 


Diagram  XIII 

otherwise  directly  he  starts  walking  it  would  hang 
thus : — 


Diagram  XIV 

A  horse  doesn't  mind  a  few  hairs  being  pulled  at 
a  time,  but  the  tail  gets  naturally  a  little  tender 
if  too  much  is  done  at  one  sitting. 

The  best  rule  is  to  set  aside  one  day  a  week 
for  improvements.     In  that  way  the  tail  is  kept 


136  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

always  smart,  but  the  amount  of  pulling  required 
each  time  is  very  little. 

I  can  give  my  readers  no  advice  on  how  to  trim 
a  docked  tail.     I  know  nothing  about  it. 

In  order  to  attain  this  fullness  at  the  bottom, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  no  hairs  should  be 
pulled  except  the  short  ones  near  the  root  of  the 
dock,  and  then  only  underneath. 

Near  the  root  a  good  deal  of  unnecessary  feather- 
ing grows  which  is  neither  useful  nor  ornamental, 
and  these  hairs  are  the  only  ones  that  should  be 
removed.  But  no  hairs  should  be  pulled,  whether 
short  or  long,  which  are  on  the  top  of  the  tail. 
They  should  be  carefully  brushed  and  made  to 
lie  flat. 

The  following  diagrams  will  show  my  point. 


This  is  called 
the  feather." 


Diagram  XV 

Get  rid  of  these  underneath  "  feathers  "  and 
brush  the  top  ones  carefully  downwards. 

These  hairs  should  be  pulled,  or  cut  with  a 
scissors. 

Ignorant  grooms  so  often  mangle  tails  that  they 
look  as  if  the  rats  had  been  at  them.     Once  a  tail 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     137 

has  been  badly  pulled,  it  takes  months  to  rectify 
the  mistake.  So  that  I  must  strongly  recommend 
any  of  my  readers  who  have  not  the  advantage 
of  having  competent  stud  grooms,  to  supervise  this 
delicate  matter  personally.  It  is  far  better  to  do 
too  little  than  too  much,  because  the  one  can  be 
rectified  and  the  other  cannot.     Also  it  must  be 


These  hairs  should  be  removed. 


Diagram  XVI 


remembered  that  it  is  not  very  pleasant  for  the 
horse  to  have  much  done  all  at  once. 

The  reason  for  pulling  instead  of  cutting  a  tail  is 
not  often  clearly  understood,  and  many  people  will 
be  surprised  at  my  advocating  cutting  the  hairs  with 
scissors.  As  far  as  the  subsequent  growth  of  the 
hair  is  concerned  it  doesn't  matter  in  the  least 
whether  it  is  cut  or  pulled.  And  as  cutting  is  pain- 
less it  is  always  to  be  advocated  provided  that  the 
actual  roots  of  the  particular  offending  hairs  can  be 


188  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

discovered.  Sometimes  it  is  very  hard  to  find 
them,  and  then  when  trying  to  cut  them  off,  it 
would  be  very  easy  to  make  a  mistake.  Under  such 
circumstances  the  hairs  should  be  pulled,  but 
generally  speaking,  it  is  simpler,  better,  and  less 
painful  to  the  horse  to  use  scissors. 

Riding  for  Children 

One  hears  it  so  often  said  that  it  is  necessary 
to  start  riding  young  to  become  a  really  first-rate 
horseman,  that  it  is  apparent  that  this  idea  must 
be  widely  and  generally  accepted.  Speaking  per- 
sonally, I  do  not  hold  this  view.  After  many 
years'  experience  in  a  cavalry  regiment,  I  have 
seen  many  officers  join,  some  who  have  ridden 
from  their  youth  up,  and  some  who  have  never 
seen  a  horse  before.  Of  the  two,  I  prefer  those 
who  have  never  ridden  to  those  that  have ;  they 
are  easier  to  teach,  and  have  no  bad  habits  to 
unlearn.  And  whatever  advantage  the  "  expe- 
rienced "  recruit  officer  possesses  at  the  outset 
quickly  vanishes  as  the  training  progresses.  So 
that,  certainly  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  it  is 
clear  that  riding  as  a  youth  is  not  essential  to 
good  horsemanship.  But  I  go  much  further  than 
that.  I  consider  that  it  is,  if  not  actually  harmful, 
it  may  be  productive  of  much  more  evil  than 
good.  If  boys  were  always  taken  out  under  highly 
qualified  instructors,  it  might  not  be  so  bad.  But 
many  children  are  taken  out  under  the  care  of  a 
groom  whose  instruction  is  not  only  worse  than 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     139 

useless,  but  is  frequently  of  a  most  harmful  nature. 
Extraordinary  ''  yarns  "  are  spun  them,  and  such 
faults  as  they  attempt  to  correct  are  on  false  sup- 
positions, while  the  most  glaring  errors  are  allowed 
to  pass  without  comment.  With  those  children 
who  only  go  out  with  their  fathers  the  case  is 
somewhat  better,  but  I  ask,  with  all  due  deference, 
how  many  fathers  are  really  capable  of  good 
instruction  ?  It  is  an  art  in  itself,  and  even  first- 
class  riders  find  the  task  rather  beyond  them.  It 
is  by  no  means  so  easy  as  one  might  suppose. 

Apart,  however,  from  the  question  of  instruction, 
I  cannot  believe  that  it  can  be  good  for  children 
to  hunt.  Short  rides  under  supervision  will  do  no 
harm,  but  their  little  legs,  and  arms,  and  muscles 
are  quite  ill -adapted  to  riding  for  long  periods  even 
on  quiet  ponies.  Accidents  are  common,  and  many 
a  man  has  had  his  nerve  quite  destroyed  by  riding 
as  a  child.  I  think  every  one  can  recall  incidents 
of  accidents  which  have  been  occasioned  through 
inexperience,  or  from  insufficient  strength  to  control 
their  mounts.  Another  reason  is  that  children  who 
are  keen — and  some  of  them  are  very  keen — do  not 
like  to  go  home  when  hounds  are  running,  or  if 
their  parents  still  remain  out.  This  often  leads  to 
their  coming  back  overtired,  which  brings  in  its 
train  a  variety  of  disorders,  nervousness,  perhaps, 
being  the  most  common.  Or  again,  a  bad  fall 
may  ruin  a  child's  nerve.  He  may  never  be  able 
to  get  on  a  horse  again,  after  some  unfortunate 
and  perhaps  painful  incident.  No.  Taking  all 
things   into   consideration,  one    cannot    advocate 


140  HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

riding  for  children.  I  consider  eighteen  quite  young 
enough  for  a  boy  or  a  girl  to  begin,  because  they 
will  be  none  the  worse  horsemen  or  horsewomen 
in  after  life  for  having  deferred  their  initiation, 
although  no  one  is  fonder  than  I  of  seeing  youngsters 
enjoying  themselves  in  the  saddle. 

I  remember  once,  as  a  boy,  taking  a  "  voluntary  " 
when  out  with  hounds.  My  coat  was  very  dirty, 
but  the  horse  was  spotlessly  clean.  This  was  a 
situation  which  very  much  affected  my  amour- 
propre,  and  was  not  to  be  tolerated  for  a  moment. 
So  I  seized  some  mud  and  carefully  plastered  my 
horse's  head  with  it.  The  idea  was  splendid,  and 
only  required  secrecy  to  make  it  a  success.  Un- 
luckily I  was  seen  doing  it !  and  it  was  a  long 
time  before  I  heard  the  last  of  that  little 
dissimulation  ! 

Children  certainly  learn  much  of  the  vmwritten 
laws  of  the  hunting  field  if  taken  out  by  their 
parents,  of  its  amenities  and  manners,  but,  speak- 
ing personally,  I  do  not  think  I  ever  learnt  much 
riding,  and  I  want  those  of  my  readers  who  have 
not  had  the  opportunity  of  riding  in  their  teens 
to  take  courage  and  remember  that  they  have 
every  bit  as  good  a  chance  as  those  that  have  in 
becoming  first-rate  horsemen.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  ride  young  to  ride  well. 

The  Diagonal 

When  writing  on  the  length  of  the  stirrup  in 
a  previous  article,  I  suggested  that  on  the  hack 
home   from    hunting   it   is   advisable    to    let   the 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     141 

stirrups  out  a  hole  in  order  to  make  it  more 
comfortable  for  the  rider.  The  point  I  want  to 
touch  on  here  is  to  do  with  the  comfort  of  the 
horse.  It  must  be  remembered  that  when  a  horse 
is  trotting,  his  off  fore  and  near  hind  both  touch 
and  leave  the  ground  almost  simultaneously. 
Similarly  his  near  fore  and  off  hind.  Now,  when 
we  rise  in  the  saddle  at  the  trot,  the  body  rises 
and  falls  to  the  cadence  of  one  or  other  of  these 
pair  of  legs,  diagonally  situated.  Hence,  when  we 
trot,  we  trot  upon  one  diagonal  or  the  other.  A 
horse  that  has  been  properly  trained  will  be  quite 
accustomed  to  the  rider  using  either,  and  will  trot 
perfectly  true  in  each  case.  But  most  horses  have 
not  been  so  trained,  and  it  will  be  foimd  that  a 
definite  habit  has  been  established  to  throw  the 
rider  on  to  the  diagonal  to  which  the  horse  is  accus- 
tomed. Generally  they  always  break  into  the  trot 
off  the  same  leg,  so  that  the  rider  will  find  himself, 
without  knowing  why,  always  rising  and  falling  on 
the  same  diagonal.  This  is,  as  I  have  said,  due 
to  bad  training,  and  should  be  rectified  as  quickly 
as  possible.  The  reason  for  it  being  bad  is  that 
the  horse  always  takes  the  weight  of  the  rider  on 
the  same  two  legs,  and  equally  uses  the  same 
muscles  for  throwing  the  rider  up.  Directly  the 
diagonal  is  changed,  then  the  strain  is  immediately 
shifted  from  those  two  legs  on  to  the  other  two, 
and  the  opposite  and  corresponding  muscles  are 
brought  into  use. 

The  knowledge  of  this  fact  is  very  important  in 
long-distance    riding,  and    of    course   to  a  lesser 


142  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

degree  when  out  hunting.  When  riding  a  tired 
horse  home,  for  example,  it  is  a  great  reUef  to 
him  if  this  is  done.  But  it  can  only  be  done  if 
the  horse  has  been  accustomed  to  be  so  ridden. 
If  not,  it  sometimes  happens  that  his  action  is 
entirely  different  on  the  other  diagonal,  is  both 
ungainly  and  uncomfortable,  and  very  tiring  to  the 
rider.  It  sometimes  also  happens  that  he  refuses 
to  be  ridden  in  that  way,  and  will  quickly  place 
the  rider  back  on  to  the  old  diagonal,  by  putting 
in  a  short  stride.  Much  quiet  amusement  can  be 
had  when  out  hacking,  in  seeing  the  artifices  horses 
will  adopt  to  put  the  rider  back  on  to  the  diagonal 
they  prefer.  The  short  stride  is  the  most  common, 
and  is  usually  adopted  to  begin  with.  If  they  find 
that  doesn't  work,  then  they  will  try  a  little  shy, 
or  perhaps  "  break."  These  last  two  schemes  are 
always  successful,  because  by  the  time  he  has  been 
collected  again  the  rider  is  always  back  on  the  old 
diagonal.  It  does  not  take  a  second,  however,  to 
get  back  again.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  stand 
in  the  stirrups  for  what  is  actually  one  stride,  but 
which  feels  like  a  half -stride.  A  good  rule  is  to 
stand  in  one's  stirrups,  count  "  one,"  and  sit  down 
again.  That  will  always  put  the  rise  and  fall  on 
to  the  opposite  diagonal. 

In  long-distance  riding,  which,  as  far  as  I  know, 
has  never  been  attempted  in  England,  it  is  usual 
for  the  riders  to  ride  five  kilometres  on  the  one 
diagonal,  and  then  five  kilometres  on  the  other. 
The  only  approach  to  a  long  ride  in  England,  that 
I  am  aware  of,  took  place  in  1914.     It  was  only 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     143 

from  London  to  Aldershot,  and  it  had  to  be  done 
in  three  and  three-quarter  hours,  although  this  can 
hardly  come  under  the  category  of  long-distance 
riding.  I,  for  one,  who  took  part  in  it,  certainly 
changed  my  diagonal  every  four  miles,  and  I  know 
that  my  horse  came  in  quite  fresh  at  the  end. 

An  interesting  little  problem  which  can  with 
advantage  occupy  one's  thoughts  when  out  hack- 
ing is,  when  walking,  to  decide  beforehand  which 
diagonal  you  intend  to  use,  then  to  break  into  a 
trot,  and  see  if  you  have  been  successful.  Until 
one  knows  the  ''tip"  it  is  not  at  all  easy.  The 
way  to  do  it  is  this.  Supposing  we  decide  on  the 
near  fore,  off  hind,  diagonal.  Then  you  must 
watch  the  action  of  the  near  shoulder,  and  as  you 
give  the  "  office  "  to  the  horse  to  trot,  you  must 
rise  in  the  saddle  only  at  the  moment  when  the 
near  shoulder  is  back,  so  that  we  sink  in  the  saddle 
at  the  moment  when  that  shoulder  is  forward,  or 
in  other  words,  when  the  near  fore  touches  the 
ground.  But  even  with  this  it  cannot  be  done 
without  a  little  practice.  A  few  attempts,  how- 
ever, will  be  sufficient,  and  it  will  be  found  a  very 
interesting  little  experiment. 

For  cavalry  work,  when  long-distance  riding 
may  have  to  be  done,  it  is  of  great  importance 
to  study  this  matter,  and  I  think  that  all  recruits 
should  be  trained  so  that  when  they  are  trotting 
on  the  right  rein  in  the  school  they  could  rise 
and  fall  on  the  off  fore  diagonal,  and  when  trotting 
on  the  left  rein  they  could  be  on  the  near  fore 
diagonal;   but  as  this  is  a  matter  for  our  military 


144  HINTS   ON   HORSEMANSHIP 

authorities,  it  is  outside  the  scope  of  this  little 
book,  which  only  has  as  its  intention  the  dealing 
with  hunting  and  civilian  matters. 


Testing  Staying  Power  of  Horses 

Here  is  another  "  tip  "  which  may  be  new  to  some 
of  my  readers.  Supposing  we  want  to  find  out  if  a 
horse  is  likely  to  "  stay  "  well,  but  have  no  facilities 
for  proving  it.  The  following  method  gives  one  a 
very  good  guide .  Take  the  horse  along  with  another 
(a  well-known  stayer  for  choice),  and  canter  or  gallop 
them  round  a  paddock,  just  far  enough  to  exercise 
their  lungs,  and  have  them  pulled  up  close  to  where 
two  people  are  standing,  and  let  each,  at  a  given 
moment,  start  counting  the  breathing  of  the  re- 
spective horses,  and  compare  the  difference.  Taking 
twenty  as  the  number  decided  upon,  if  the  trial 
horse  has  only  made  eighteen  breaths  to  the  other's 
twenty,  then  it  can  be  safely  said  that  he  is  a 
natural  stayer;  if  he  has  taken  twenty-four  or 
twenty-five,  then  we  can  equally  feel  assured  that 
he  is  not  likely  to  "stay"  well.  Training  will 
improve  a  horse's  fitness  and  muscle,  but  the 
natural  cadence  of  inhalation  and  exhalation 
remains  much  the  same  no  matter  what  has  been 
done  previously. 


Show -Ring  Jumping 

At  the  International  Horse  Show  at  Olympia  one 
of  the  most  conmaon  remarks  is,  "  How  can  you 


'HANDS'   AND  OTHER  MATTERS    145 

expect  a  horse  to  jump  with  all  this  crowd  looking 
on,  and  all  these  damned  flowers  ?  " 

Those,  however,  who  have  taken  pains  to  train 
their  horses,  know  that  neither  lights,  nor  crowds, 
nor  flowers,  nor  bands  matter  in  the  least.  A  horse 
will  do  what  he  has  been  accustomed  to  do,  put  him 
where  you  will.  He  must  be  able  to  see  his  fences 
clearly,  and  as  long  as  he  can  do  that  he  will  jump 
both  cleverly  and  well,  provided  he  has  been  trained 
beforehand. 

Remarks  such  as  these  are  merely  idle  excuses 
for  failure,  and  our  foreign  guests,  who  must  have 
often  overheard  such  statements,  must  have  smiled 
inwardly  at  hearing  such  expressions  coming  from 
"  the  nation  of  horsemen." 

Do  we  not  know  that  music  does  not  adversely 
affect  horses  ?  If  we  don't,  it  was  a  fact  known 
to  Job,  the  writer  of  one  of  the  oldest  books 
extant.  Have  w^e  not  read  that "  He  saith  amongst 
the  trumpets,  ha,  ha  "  ? 

No,  indeed.  It  is  neither  the  music,  nor  the 
lights,  nor  the  crowd,  nor  the  flowers  that  affect 
him.  But  if  he  knows  he  is  going  to  receive  a 
pretty  fair  dose  of  the  whip  directly  he  sets  foot 
in  the  arena,  he  very  naturally  puts  up  all  the 
protest  of  which  he  is  capable.  A  horse  cannot  be 
made  as  afraid  "  as  the  grasshopper,"  but  he  will 
show  a  very  righteous  temper  if  he  knows  he  is 
in  for  an  unjust  hammering ;  and  is  there  any  one 
who  would  disagree  with  him  were  they  in  his 
place  ? 


146  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

Point-to -Point  Racing 

There  are  quite  a  considerable  number  of  people 
who  believe  that  point-to-point  racing  makes 
horses  "hot"  and  ruins  their  manners.  But  I 
can  assure  them  that  such  is  not  the  case.  Horses 
when  reaching  the  ground  upon  which  they  do 
their  gallops  will  sometimes  show  a  little  excite- 
ment (particularly  if  they  associate  the  gallop 
with  whip  and  spur).  Even  in  such  a  case  their 
so-called  keenness  is  merely  unwillingness  to  ap- 
proach the  training  ground.  But  take  them  away 
from  that  association  and  their  excitability  vanishes. 
Most  polo  ponies  walk  on  to  the  polo  ground  most 
unwillingly.  If  galloping  made  horses  ''  hot,"  then 
we  should  see  them  jumping  about  and  creating 
all  sorts  of  trouble.  Even  "  blood  "  two-year-olds, 
who  often  give  much  bother  at  the  starting  gate, 
can  be  seen  daily  in  their  strings  walking  or  trotting 
about  quite  quietly. 

And  so  it  is  with  a  hunter.  A  horse  that  is 
quiet  with  hounds  will  be  always  so,  whether  he 
has  run  a  point-to-point  race  or  not.  I  put  this 
matter  to  the  test  once  in  the  following  way.  I 
had  a  mare  who  was  as  "  hot  "  as  you  make  'em, 
and  I  had  had  to  spend  weary  months  in  getting 
her  to  jump  her  fences  quietly.  I  entered  her  one 
day  for  a  steeplechase,  and  I  was  urged  not  to 
by  my  friends,  who  told  me  I  should  undo  all  the 
good  I  had  previously  done.  In  the  race  she  simply 
"  eat  up  "  her  fences,  but  the  next  time  I  asked 
her  to  jump  a  rail  collectedly  there  was  no  difficulty 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     147 

whatever,  and  she  jumped  as  if  she  had  never 
raced  over  fences  in  her  Ufe. 

I  do  not  think  people  generally  give  horses 
sufficient  credit  for  intelligence.  A  horse  that  has 
been  well  treated  will  do  practically  anything 
required  of  him,  as  long  as  he  does  really  under- 
stand what  is  wanted  and  has  been  shown  how  to 
do  it.  Most  of  our  troubles  with  horses  are  our 
own  fault.  They  are  frightened  at  the  prospect 
of  punishment  and  nervous  of  falling,  and  when 
in  that  condition  are  very  "  stupid  "  indeed.  But 
once  he  has  gained  confidence,  then  he  can  be 
raced,  or  hunted,  or  hacked,  or  jumped,  and  he 
will  be  the  same  with  us  every  day — a  "  trusted, 
well-beloved "  servant,  because  the  confidence  is 
mutual. 

But  this  standard  cannot  be  attained  with  horses 
that  have  been  spoilt  in  the  past.  Once  it  has  gone 
it  will  never  return.  A  horse  that,  because  he  has 
been  overfaced  as  a  youngster,  has  taken  to 
refusing,  may  never  entirely  lose  the  habit.  A 
horse  that  has  once  been  sickened  of  racing  may 
never  be  made  to  race  again.  So  that  very  much 
depends  upon  how  we  train  our  young  horses,  and 
those  of  us  who  are  unable  to  keep  or  train  young 
stock  must  suffer  for  the  misdeeds  of  stable  lads, 
or  farmers'  boys,  or  rough  riders.  The  faults  are 
irremediable  then,  but  the  blame  must  rest  upon 
the  right  shoulders. 

Horses  will  be  "  hot"  in  accordance  with  their 
nature,  and  it  is  not  a  question  of  whether  they 
have  been  galloped  or  not.     The  "  hottest"  horse 


148         HINTS  ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

can  be  made  perfectly  quiet  by  exercise,  and  the 
quickest  way  to  get  him  in  that  condition  is  to 
gallop  him,  provided  his  legs  are  sound  enough. 
The  best  way  is  to  have  him  out  hacking  four 
hours  a  day,  at  six  miles  an  hour. 

Show-Ring  Jumps 

In  the  United  Kingdom,  I  think,  we  lack  a  little 
originality  in  making  obstacles  in  the  show-ring. 
We  are  all  too  accustomed  to  seeing  nothing  else 
but  a  gate,  a  wall,  a  rail  and  a  water-jump.  In 
Ireland  it  is  somewhat  different.  There  they 
have  banks,  stone  walls,  but  marking  is  in  these 
cases  much  more  difficult.  We  have  the  same  or 
practically  the  same  courses  year  after  year, 
and  yet  there  are  a  great  number  of  varieties 
which  could  be  erected.  Some  novelties  are  im- 
doubtedly  wanted,  and  to  get  ideas  we  cannot  do 
better  than  imitate  some  of  the  courses  which  have 
been  made  on  the  Continent,  where  things  are  better 
done,  I  think,  than  with  us. 

One  course  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  riding 
over,  and  which  I  thought  at  the  time  was  an 
exceptionally  good  one,  was  as  follows  : — 

(1)  Preliminary  bush  fence. 

(2)  An  "  in  and  out."  This  represented  a  road- 
way with  a  post  and  rails  on  each  side  of  it,  so  that 
the  first  rail  had  a  ditch  on  the  far  side,  and  the 
second  a  similar  ditch  on  the  near  side.  The  rails 
were  about  4  feet  3  inches  in  height,  and  the  ditch 
was  roughly  4  feet  broad — a  capital  jump  for 
testing  a  hunter. 

(3)  A  wall,  4  feet  6  inches. 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     149 

(4)  A  post  and  rails,  4  feet  6  inches. 

(5)  A  rail  on  a  bank,  the  whole  4  feet  6  inches. 

(6)  A  bank.  This  was  a  really  big  one,  8  feet 
high,  and  very  much  more  formidable  than  the  big 
bank  in  Dublin.  In  this  case  it  was  a  kind  of 
double  bank,  suggesting  an  aqueduct. 

(7)  A  "  piano  "  jump.  This  consisted  of  a  small 
ditch  full  of  water,  then  a  low  bank  with  a  flat 
top,  at  the  end  of  which  was  a  low  post  and  rails, 
over  which  one  dropped  on  to  the  level  again. 

A  comparatively  easy  obstacle,  but  on  account 
of  its  unusual  nature  is  a  very  good  test  of  the 
obedience  of  the  horse  and  his  confidence  in  his 
rider. 

(8)  Double  gates.  The  gates  were  4  feet  3  inches 
in  height,  and  4  feet  apart. 

This  was,  I  think,  the  biggest  jump  on  the  course, 
and  one  which  required  the  most  skill  to  negotiate. 

(9)  An  open  ditch — steeplechase  pattern. 
.    (10)  Water. 

(11)  A  sunken  road.  Here  the  ground  had  been 
scooped  out  about  3  feet  deep,  and  the  "  road  " 
was  boimded  by  an  ordinary  brush  fence  on  the 
take-off  side,  about  3  feet  in  height.  On  the  far  side 
was  a  rail,  2  feet  high,  which  meant  that  a  horse 
after  having  landed  over  a  drop  fence,  would  have 
to  collect  himself  in  one  stride,  and  clear  a  rail  of 
5  feet  from  his  take  off. 

This  was  a  splendid  test  of  both  training  and 
horsemanship,  and  could  not  have  been  accom- 
plished by  any  rider  who  had  landed  over  the 
drop  fence  with  his  body  back. 

(12)  A  footpath.     In  this  case  the  rails  which 


150  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

bounded  it  were  slightly  lower  than  in  the  double 
gates,  but  further  apart,  and  of  course  both  had 
to  be  jumped  in  one  leap.  The  measurements 
were  :  rails  4  feet,  and  6  feet  away  from  each  other. 

These  were  not  quite  so  difficult  to  clear  as  the 
double  gates,  because  they  could  be  ridden  at 
faster.  But  still  it  was  a  good  test  of  a  horse's 
boldness  and  jumping  capacity. 

Every  one  of  these  are  good,  soimd,  practical  tests 
for  both  horse  and  rider,  and  it  seems  to  me  that 
any  horse  that  can  get  round  a  course  like  this 
without  a  fault,  is  fit  to  be  considered  a  valuable 
hunter.  In  addition  to  this,  it  was  an  easy  course 
for  marking  purposes.  So  if  it  is  right  ab  hosti 
docere,  how  much  more  must  it  be  advantageous  to 
learn  from  our  friends. 

Before  concluding  this  chapter  I  want  to  say 
that  I  have  often  heard  it  said  that,  even  if  con- 
tinental riders  do  ride  better  than  us  in  the  show- 
ring,  we  can  always  show  them  the  way  across  a 
natural  country.  I  do  not  deny  this.  But  the 
reason  is,  not  because  they  have  perfected  their 
riding  in  a  riding  school  and  have  devoted  their 
energies  to  training  themselves  and  their  horses 
over  artificial  obstacles,  but  because  they  have  had 
no  experience  in  riding  to  hounds.  It  is  hardly  to 
be  expected  that  any  man,  however  well  he  rides, 
will  be  able  to  pick  up  all  the  intricacies  of  the 
hunting  field  in  a  moment,  or  be  able  to  compete 
on  equal  terms  with  men  who  have  hunted  all  their 
lives  and  who  know  every  fence  in  the  countryside. 

It  is  natural  that  they  should  be  nervous  of 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER  MATTERS     151 

doing  something  wrong  and  of  breaking  many  of 
the  unwritten  laws  of  hunting.  Jumping  unknown 
fences,  too,  comes  strange  to  a  man  who  has  never 
been  able  to  ride  except  over  made  fences;  but 
surely  that  is  to  be  expected.  It  would  only  require 
experience  in  hunting  to  overcome  this.  Experi- 
ence in  riding  they  already  possess.  The  knowledge 
they  possess  of  horsemanship  is  far  ahead  of  the 
man  who  has  never  ridden  except  to  hounds,  and 
other  things  being  equal,  there  is  no  doubt,  in  my 
mind,  which  of  the  two  is  the  better  man. 

It  is  the  same  with  a  horse  who  has  never  jumped 
except  in  the  show-ring.  He  may  bungle  his 
fences  a  little  at  first,  but  directly  he  has  accustomed 
himself  to  the  new  conditions,  he  must  be  able  to 
cross  a  country  more  brilliantly  than  an  ordinary 
hunter  who  has  not  had  the  same  training. 

The  Marking  in  the  Show-Ring 

The  best  method  hitherto  adopted  is  one  which 
has  been  copied  from  the  French,  namely : — 

Half  a  fault  for  a  slight  touch. 

Two  faults  for  a  knock  down  with  the  hind  feet. 

Four  faults  for  a  knock  down  with  the  fore  feet. 

But  I  wish  to  take  the  opportunity  of  suggesting 
that  the  principle,  sound  enough  in  itself,  should  be 
somewhat  further  developed,  and  I  submit  that  the 
following  system  would  be  more  comprehensive  : — 

Half  fault  for  a  slight  touch  with  the  hind  feet. 

One  fault  for  a  slight  touch  with  the  fore  feet. 

Two  faults  for  a  knock  down  with  the  hind  feet. 

Four  faults  for  a  knock  down  with  the  fore  feet. 


152  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

Faults  to  be  cumulative.  So  that  a  horse  that 
touched  slightly  with  his  fore  feet,  and  knocked 
down  with  his  hind,  should  be  given  two  and  a  half 
faults,  etc. 

A  horse  that  knocks  any  fence  down  with  his 
knees  or  breast  should  be  disqualified. 

I  further  suggest  that  "  time  "  should  not  be  a 
factor  in  awarding  a  prize.  It  has  been  urged  that 
if  two  horses  make  equally  good  rounds,  the  winner 
should  be  the  one  that  complete  the  course  in  the 
shortest  time. 

A  contention,  which  has  certainly  points  in  its 
favour,  but  which  has  led  to  abuse. 

It  has  become  rather  fashionable  for  some  riders 
to  train  their  horses  to  gallop  round  as  fast  as 
possible,  and  learn  to  clear  the  jumps  in  the  best 
way  they  can.  This  can  only  be  taught  by  knock- 
ing the  animals  about  a  good  deal,  by  the  use 
of  the  whip,  and  by  hitting  their  legs  as  they 
jump.  It  is  not  an  exhibition  of  skill,  it  ruins  a 
horse's  temper,  and  is  bad  from  whatever  aspect 
it  is  viewed.  It  teaches  horses  to  "scotch"  on 
approaching  the  fence,  and  as  often  as  not  they 
jump  off  their  forehand  instead  of  from  their  hocks, 
and,  in  my  opinion,  the  sooner  that  form  of  training 
is  abolished  the  better. 

Trick   Jumps 

Another  remark  I  have  often  heard  is  that 
of  calling  the  obstacles  in  the  show- ring  "  trick 
jumps."     I  have  always  felt  it  is  a  great  pity  that 


*  HANDS'  AND  OTHER  MATTERS  153 

such  expressions  are  so  common,  although  the 
reason  for  them  is  obvious. 

In  a  show-ring  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  have 
what  are  called  "  natural  fences."  Even  if  it  was 
possible,  what  a  singularly  dull  show  it  would  be  1 
The  "  natural  "  fence  jumped  by  hunting  people 
is  a  remarkably  small  obstacle.  It  is  considered  a 
"stiff"  fence  if  the  horse  has  to  clear  3  feet  to 
get  over  it  safely,  while  a  4-foot  jump  is  left  only 
to  the  few  "  thrusters."     A  stiff  post  and  rails  of 

4  feet  6  inches  would  stop  the  whole  field.  But 
when  a  man  gives  a  polished  exhibition  in  the 
show-ring  by  jumping  cleanly  a    five -barred  gate 

5  feet  high,  a  wall  of  4  feet  9  inches,  a  rail  of  4  feet 

6  inches,  a  railway  gate  in  and  out,  each  4  feet 
3  inches  high,  besides  a  bush  fence  or  two,  and  an 
open  ditch  (steeplechase  pattern),  it  is  called  trick 
jumping  ! 

I  do  not  quite  understand  why.  As  long  as 
the  hunting  public  affect  to  contemn  the  training 
necessitated  by  successful  show-ring  work,  and  to 
look  down  upon  the  skill  it  demands,  there  is  no 
hope  for  they  themselves  to  improve.  There  is  no 
"  trick  "  in  teaching  a  horse  to  jump  a  gate,  nothing 
but  patience  and  perseverance  is  required,  and 
with  what  object?  Nothing  else  than  training 
both  horse  and  rider  to  cross  a  country.  Surely  a 
praiseworthy  endeavour,  whichever  way  you  look 
upon  it,  and,  as  such,  should  merit  the  applause 
and  not  the  contumely  of  hunting  circles. 

Some  horses  are  kept  entirely  for  show-ring 
jumping.    Perhaps  because,  being  so  highly  trained, 


154  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

the  owners  don't  care  to  risk  them  in  the  hunting 
field.  But  that  does  not  alter  the  position.  It  is 
just  the  same  as  a  prize  fruit,  which  is  too  good 
to  be  eaten.  It  is  mainly  displayed  as  an  example 
of  what  can  be  done  in  fruit-growing,  and  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who  are  growing  fruit  for  the 
market. 

No  one  lifts  the  finger  of  scorn  at  those  prize 
winners,  but,  on  the  contrary,  show  gratitude  to 
them  for  the  lessons  that  have  been  learnt  from 
their  efforts.  So  it  should  be  with  horses.  No 
one  expects  to  be  able  to  train  their  hunters  to 
the  same  standard  as  that  attained  by  a  prize 
show^-jumper.  But  by  seeing  what  can  be  done  by 
those  who  devote  their  whole  time  to  that  particular 
branch  of  horsemanship,  much  can  be  learnt  by 
the  riding  public.  And  if  these  lessons  are  applied, 
as  far  as  possible,  on  their  return  to  the  hunting 
field,  there  is,  I  think,  but  little  doubt  that  the 
standard  of  riding  would  be  greatly  improved 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  coimtry. 


LoXG-DlSTANCE    RiDIXG 

This  is  a  subject  which  hardly  applies  in  this 
country,  and  on  the  Continent  these  competitions 
which  used  to  be  carried  out  have  ceased  to  a 
very  great  extent.  But  although  few  people  want 
to  ride  horses  to  such  extremes,  the  principles  of 
long-distance  riding  may  often  come  in,  when,  for 
example,  riding  a  tired  horse  home  after  a  long 
day's  hunting.     I    have    already  dwelt   with  the 


'HANDS'   AND   OTHER   MATTERS     155 

"  diagonal "  when  trotting  (see  p.  140).  This 
alone  helps  a  horse  very  considerably. 

The  other  points  are  these  : — Never  walk.  When 
mounted,  the  pace  should  always  be  the  trot,  but 
when  it  is  necessary  or  desirable  to  go  at  a  walking 
pace,  always  lead.  This  rule  rests  both  horse  and 
rider,  and  the  distance  is  accomplished  in  about 
the  same  time.  Don't  make  short  halts.  When- 
ever a  halt  is  necessary,  see  that  it  is  long  enough 
to  take  the  saddle  off,  so  as  to  rub  and  dry  the 
back,  and  if  possible  water  and  feed  at  the  same 
time. 

For  cavalry  work  this  is  very  important,  and 
whenever  I  was  doing  a  long  march  "  on  my  own  " 
when  I  had  a  squadron,  I  always  used  to  march 
on  those  principles,  and  I  found  that  I  not  only 
covered  the  distance  quicker,  but  both  men  and 
horses  were  much  fresher  by  these  means  than  by 
any  other.  Three-quarters  of  an  hour's  trot,  and 
one-quarter  of  an  hour  "  leading,"  would  enable 
six  and  three-quarter  miles  to  be  covered  in  the 
hour.  Two  hours  of  this  before  the  midday  halt, 
and  two  hours  after,  would  represent  a  twenty- 
seven  mile  march,  easily  and  comfortably  per- 
formed. These  are  simple  rules,  and  well  worthy 
of  consideration. 


COLONIAL  RIDING 

I  HAVE  been  often  asked  about  riding  in  the 
colonies,  and  for  an  explanation  of  why,  when 
riding  buck-jumpers,  long  instead  of  short  stirrups 
are  used,  and  therefore  I  purpose  to  devote  this 
chapter  partly  to  those  phases  of  riding. 

In  the  colonies  a  horse  is  looked  upon  in  an 
entirely  different  way  to  which  he  is  regarded  in 
Great  Britain. 

Firstly,  they  are  very  cheap  and  there  are  plenty 
of  them.  People  have  no  time  for  careful  train- 
ing, and  do  not  regard  riding  as  a  luxury,  but 
merely  as  a  means  for  getting  about.  As  long  as 
a  horse  is  sufficiently  docile,  he  is  considered  trained. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  all  the  young  stock 
run  wild.  They  get  no  gentle  handling  accom- 
panied by  sugar  and  caresses  like  many  youngsters 
get  with  us  at  home.  They  run  wild  for  some 
time,  and  a  man,  when  he  first  sees  one,  is  a  strange 
and  suspicious  object.  His  suspicion  is  soon  de- 
veloped into  positive  dislike,  not  unaccompanied 
by  terror,  because  his  first  experience  is  that  of 
branding,  and  his  second  of  castration.  After 
this  insight  into  the  apparent  character  of  man, 
his  suspicions  are  confirmed,  and  he,  not  without 
cause,    regards   mankind   as    his   natural   enemy. 

156 


COLONIAL  RIDING  157 

Directly  he  is  considered  old  enough  to  be  broken 
in  to  the  saddle,  he  is  rounded  up,  and  thrown  by 
the  lasso.  While  lying  helpless,  but  panting  and 
terrified,  a  saddle  is  placed  on  his  back,  a  bit  in 
his  mouth,  and  his  dreaded  enemy  stands  over 
him.  At  this  moment  he  is  unloosed,  and  assisted 
to  rise  by  a  cut  with  a  whip.  No  sooner  is  he  on 
his  legs  than  he  realizes  a  man  is  on  his  back. 
His  only  idea,  then,  is  to  get  rid  of  his  enemy, 
and  starts  bucking  and  doing  everything  he  can 
to  obtain  his  freedom.  After  his  first  efforts  have 
proved  vain,  and  he  has  tired  somewhat,  the  rider 
starts  thrashing  him.  So  his  bucking  is  continued 
until  he  is  too  exhausted  to  do  more,  and  he 
stands  quiet,  dripping  with  perspiration,  and 
trembling  with  terror.  In  most  cases  his  educa- 
tion is  now  complete.  His  spirit  is  broken,  and 
he  accepts  the  mastery  of  man.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  in  this  contest  their  strength  is 
not  very  great.  They  are  only  grass-fed,  and 
youngsters,  and  are  very  different  both  in  size 
and  strength  to  horses  of  a  similar  age  in  our 
country. 

This  is  the  origin  and  reason  for  the  buck- 
jumper.  It  is  undoubtedly  a  cruel  system,  but 
it  is  quick  and  practical,  and  that  is  what  chiefly 
interests  the  colonial,  who  has  neither  time  nor 
opportunity  for  more  delicate  handling.  He  only 
wants  to  get  a  horse  fit  for  the  duty  of  cattle 
ranching  in  the  quickest  possible  time,  and  if 
some  break  down  in  the  process — well,  horses 
are  cheap,  and  there  are  others. 


158  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

Once  the  horse  is  docile  his  education  is  com- 
plete. No  thought  of  bridling  and  bending  and 
balancing  comes  into  consideration.  The  real 
pleasures  of  riding  and  horsemanship  are  unknown. 
Long  distances  have  to  be  ridden,  and  all  that  is 
necessary  is  that  the  horse  should  have  some 
form  of  "  tripple  "  or  easy  canter,  which  will  get 
him  over  the  ground  in  the  easiest  possible  way 
both  for  himself  and  the  rider. 

The  horse  in  those  countries  is  a  conveyance 
pure  and  simple,  and  consequently  it  is  not  to 
those  people  that  we  can  turn,  even  living  in  the 
saddle  as  they  do,  for  any  guidance  in  the  higher 
flights  of  horsemanship. 

On  the  other  hand,  even  the  most  highly  trained 
horseman  brought  up  in  European  methods 
would  not  be  able  to  sit  a  good  buck-jumper  for 
long,  in  an  ordinary  hunting  saddle.  This  is  not 
because  the  principles  of  riding  which  we  study 
are  in  any  way  wrong.  The  principles  of  balance 
and  seat  remain  the  same  always.  But  in  this 
case  it  is  a  question  of  strength  as  well  as  of 
constant  adjustment  of  balance.  If  the  horse  by 
some  sudden  movement  threw  the  rider  off  his 
balance,  only  momentarily,  no  effort  of  strength 
would  enable  him  to  regain  his  seat.  Each  fresh 
movement  would  increase  his  difficulty,  and  it 
would  be  only  a  question  of  seconds  before  he 
would  be  deposited  on  the  ground.  If  great 
strength  were  not  also  used,  the  balance  could 
not  be  maintained.  So  that  as  even  a  young 
grass-fed    horse    is    considerably  stronger  than  a 


COLONIAL   RIDING  159 

man,  other  methods  have  to  be  adopted  to  deal 
with  this  particular  matter,  which,  although  not 
in  accordance  with  the  best  traditions  of  horse- 
manship, have  been  accepted  as  expedients.  The 
colonial  saddle  has  usually  a  high  pommel  upon 
which  the  end  of  the  lasso  is  wound.  Some  of 
them  have  also  a  high  cantle,  like  a  military- 
saddle,  and  some  have  very  large  rolls  which  not 
only  cover  the  knee,  but  also  part  of  the  thigh, 
and  there  is  also  a  roll  behind  the  thigh,  so  that 
the  rider  is  firmly  fixed  in  the  saddle.  With 
saddles  such  as  these,  the  buck-jumper  can  be 
mastered  with  comparative  ease.  The  knees  are 
pressed  up  under  the  rolls,  and  the  rider  occasionally 
also  holds  on  to  a  "monkey"  fixed  on  to  the 
pommel.  The  reins  are  not  bothered  about.  The 
horse  has  his  head  completely,  and  can  go  where 
he  will.  The  only  object  of  the  rider  is  to  stick 
on  and  hold  on. 

The  only  point  that  is  of  interest  from  the 
scientific  point  of  view  is  the  question  of  the 
length  of  stirrup.  It  may  be  urged  that  if  the 
principles  that  have  been  disclosed  in  the  pre- 
ceding articles  are  correct,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  ride  buck-jumpers  with  a  very  short  stirrup, 
while,  actually,  they  ride  very  long.  But  the 
reason  for  this  is  not  difficult  to  explain.  The 
force  exercised  by  the  horse  is,  in  this  case,  not 
nearly  so  much  of  a  forward  action  as  upward. 
I  used  the  simile  of  a  man  standing  in  a  railway 
truck,  in  my  second  chapter,  showing  how  in  order 
to  anticipate  a  sudden  increase  of  speed  in  the 


160  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

train,  and  to  avoid  being  thrown  backward,  he 
would  have  to  lean  forward,  and  in  so  doing  would 
have  to  bend  his  knees.  This  simile  was  used  in 
order  to  show  the  necessity  for  short  stirrups. 
But  this  case  is  somewhat  different.  It  is  like 
a  man  standing  on  a  springboard,  with  some  one 
underneath  causing  it  at  irregular  intervals  to 
spring  up  after  it  has  been  pulled  down.  In 
such  a  case  it  would  be  unnecessary  for  the  man 
standing  on  the  end  of  the  board  to  bend  his 
knees.  He  would  probably  keep  his  balance  best 
by  keeping  his  head  very  erect,  and  his  legs  straight 
and  stiff.  So  when  riding  a  buck-jumper,  as  the 
action  is  upward  and  not  forward,  it  is  preferable 
to  ride  with  a  long  stirrup  rather  than  a  short 
one. 

If  we  look  at  the  attached  sketch  of  a  bucking 
horse,  my  point  will  be  more  clear. 

Here  we  can  see  the  upward  as  against  the 
forward  movement,  and  the  rider  takes  the  strain 
by  firstly  fixing  his  thighs  firmly  against  the  knee 
rolls,  and  by  holding  sometimes  on  to  the  "  mon- 
keys," as  short  straps  attached  to  the  pommel  of 
the  saddle  are  called.  Occasionally  they  even 
hang  on  both  in  front  and  behind. 

In  ordinary  riding  across  the  prairie  or  bush, 
when  long  distances  have  to  be  covered,  but  when 
there  is  no  jumping  such  as  we  know  it  in  England, 
they  all  ride  long,  and  lean  well  forward.  This  is 
undoubtedly  a  correct  attitude  for  the  work  they 
have  to  do.  They  have  thoroughly  grasped  the 
principle  that  the  weight  should  be  kept  off  the 


COLONIAL  RIDING 


161 


Sketch  No.  23 

This  represents  an  Australian  buck-jumper. 

Here  it  will  be  seen  how  entirely  different  this  form  of  "  sitting 
on  "  is  from  English  riding.  The  stirrup  is  quite  long,  and  the 
rider's  leg  is  practically  straight.  But  the  rider  gets  his  pressiire 
by  his  thigh  being  fixed  by  the  large  rolls  both  in  front  and 
behind. 

This  attitude  answers  its  purpose  because  the  effort  of  the 
horse  is  all  upwards  and  not  lateral. 


162  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

loins,  in  all  long-distance  work.  And  as  they  do 
not  expect  to  meet  anything  in  the  nature  of  a 
jump,  it  is  certainly  more  comfortable  to  ride 
fairly  long,  than  to  attempt  the  correct  seat  of 
an  English  hunting  man.  The  only  obstacles  they 
are  likely  to  meet  might  be  a  fallen  tree,  which 
would  never  exceed  two  feet  in  height  off  the 
ground.  These  they  negotiate  by  merely  leaning 
forward,  and  allowing  the  horse  to  straggle  over 
it  as  best  he  may.  It  is  not  a  finished  exhibition, 
but  it  is  not  intended  to  be.  The  rider  often 
loses  his  stirrup  irons,  or  sometimes,  even,  de- 
liberately takes  his  feet  from  them.  The  point 
is  that  he  "  gets  there,"  and  that  is  all  that  is 
required.  The  horse  he  is  riding,  too,  is  probably 
an  entirely  imtrained  youngster,  and  so  all  the 
"  finesse  "  which  these  articles  have  been  advo- 
cating are  here  quite  out  of  place. 

I  have  headed  this  chapter  "  Colonial  Riding," 
by  which  I  refer  to  the  stockyards,  and  that  par- 
ticular form  of  riding  and  horse-breaking  which 
people  on  this  side  regard  as  typical  overseas. 
But  in  and  near  the  large  towns  like  Melbourne 
or  Sydney,  where  life  is  more  civilized,  there  is 
no  reason  why  the  riding  and  horsemanship  should 
not  be  on  similar  lines,  and  reach  as  high,  if  not 
a  higher,  standard  than  that  which  at  present 
obtains  in  Europe.  That  they  have  not  already 
done  so  is  probably  due,  firstly,  to  the  cowboy 
influence,  and  secondly,  to  the  fact  that  there  are 
few  men  of  leisure  who  are  not  too  old  to  interest 
themselves   in    such   pursuits,    and   also,    perhaps 


COLONIAL   RIDING  163 

chiefly,  because  it  has  not  been  the  fashion  hitherto. 
But  I  can  strongly  recommend  my  many  colonial 
friends,  as  well  as  all  lovers  of  the  horse  on  this 
side  of  the  water,  to  study  these  questions  well. 
They  will  then  find  pleasure  in  even  the  dullest 
hack,  vistas  will  be  opened  to  them  of  which 
they  have  never  dreamt,  new  fields  of  both  profit 
and  amusement  will  develop  as  they  pursue  this 
attractive  path,  and  they  will  obtain  an  interest 
in  their  stable  which  they  have  never  had  before. 
All  of  us  who  are  horse-lovers  will  do  well  to  survey 
the  past,  and  see  if  there  is  not  some  way  in  which 
we  can  improve,  not  only  our  own  riding,  but  in 
our  methods  of  training  and  horse  management. 
The  horse  is  so  attractive  an  animal,  if  he  is  only 
treated  properly,  no  one  can  help  loving  him,  and 
no  one,  once  he  really  understands  the  tempera- 
ment of  horses,  will  unnecessarily  apply  the  whip, 
or  countenance  any  sort  of  punishment  whatever. 

I  remember  seeing  a  man  one  day  who  was 
riding  a  young  horse  to  the  meet.  This  horse 
was  very  bad  at  gates,  and  he  came  to  one  which 
the  horse  refused  to  allow  him  to  open  with  his 
crop.  My  friend  was  the  personification  of  patience. 
Although  he  had  to  spend  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
before  he  succeeded  in  attaining  his  object,  he 
never  lost  his  temper,  and  only  spoke  kindly  to 
him  the  whole  time.  In  the  end  he  succeeded, 
and  that  horse  never  gave  him  any  trouble  again 
over  gates.  But  had  he  hit  his  horse,  or  punished 
him,  he  would  probably  have  never  succeeded  in 
getting  him  to  take  kindly  to  them.     It  was  only 


164  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

another  example  of  the  folly  of  punishment.  If 
a  horse  jumps  badly,  blame  yourself  or  your 
training,  and  try  and  improve  both  or  either,  but 
don't  start  hitting  him.  If  horses  are  impatient, 
and  pull,  or  fret,  then  see  if  the  situation  cannot 
be  improved  by  exercise  or  feeding,  but  don't  put 
cruel  bits  into  their  mouths,  or  start  hitting  them 
over  the  head.  If  you  find  one  that  is  really  too 
much  for  you,  then  sell  him  to  some  one  who  can 
manage  him  better,  and  don't  be  afraid  to  admit 
that  you  can't  ride  him.  There  is  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of  in  that,  but  what  one  should  be  ashamed 
of  is  being  seen  riding  the  horse  in  monstrous  bits, 
which  are  nothing  more  or  less  than  instruments  of 
torture. 

In  the  colonies,  where  time  is  of  importance 
and  horses  of  none,  it  may  be  expedient  to  break 
their  horses  in  in  the  method  above  described. 
I  have  no  practical  experience  whatever,  and  I 
have  neither  the  intention  nor  desire  to  criticize. 
I  only  ask  those  colonials  who  have  done  me  the 
honour  of  reading  these  few  pages  through,  to 
think  the  matter  over  again,  and  see  if  there 
cannot  be  some  improvement  organized  in  their 
training  and  handling. 

After  all,  there  must  be  progress  in  the  world, 
and  the  worst  argument  that  can  be  proffered  is 
that  it  always  has  been  done  that  way.  We  must 
reorganize  and  reconstruct  our  methods  from  time 
to  time,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  a  system  of 
terrorizing  and  inflicting  pain  on  any  animal 
must,    ipso  facto,    have    in    it   the    elements   and 


COLONIAL   RIDING  165 

fundaments  of  error.  For  this  very  reason  it 
should  be  a  subject  more  ready  for  reconstructive 
survey  than  others  which  have  a  sounder  basis  for 
their  origin. 

Now  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  of  my  task. 
Briefly  summarized,  my  object  in  presenting  the 
public  with  yet  another  book  on  riding  has  been 
to  point  out  the  faults  in  horsemanship  which  we 
see  occurring  round  us  every  day,  to  attempt  to 
demonstrate  where  the  faults  chiefly  lie,  and  to 
explain  the  fimdamental  principles  upon  which 
good  riding  can  be  founded.  To  help  those,  who 
lack  the  necessary  experience,  in  training  their 
horses  so  as  to  make  them  better  men  across 
country,  and  ride  to  hounds  with  more  enjoyment 
and  greater  safety;  and  to  instil  a  more  sympa- 
thetic treatment  of  our  horses,  whether  it  be  in 
the  manege  or  the  stable.  It  is  far  more  than  I 
can  expect  to  succeed  in  any  of  these  tasks,  but 
if  I  have  helped  only  one  enthusiast,  so  as  to 
make  him  and  his  horses  better  than  they  were 
before,  I  shall  feel  sufficiently  rewarded.  But  if 
I  do  more  than  this  :  if  I  have  been  the  cause, 
however  indirectly,  of  reducing  the  abuse  of  both 
whip  and  spur,  to  the  encouragement  of  sympathy 
and  thoughtfulness  for  those  animals  that  provide 
us  with  some  of  the  greatest  joys  of  life,  and  who 
are  unable  to  speak  for  themselves,  then  I  shall 
be  more  than  rewarded.  Horses  each  have  their 
different  natures  and  characters,  and  like  a  suc- 
cessful schoolmaster  with  his  class,  they  should  be 


166  HINTS   ON  HORSEMANSHIP 

studied.  The  birch  may  hang  upon  the  wall  as  a 
warning,  but  the  master  that  uses  it  admits  failure. 
The  good  schoolmaster  has  no  need  for  such  re- 
course (except  under  very  exceptional  circum- 
stances), and  the  same  rule  applies  to  the  good 
horsemaster. 

Blame  yourself  before  you  blame  the  horse. 


For  this  series  of  photos  I  have  to  thank  Mr.  J. 
Birkmeyer,  of  Ingmanthorpe  Hall,  Yorkshire. 

These  photos  were  taken  before  the  invention  of 
the  cinematograph,  and  their  production  entailed  an 
immense  amount  of  care,  patience  and  repetition.  The 
results  are,  however,  excellent,  and  show  very  clearly 
the  correct  method  of  jumping  a  fence  according  to 
the  continental  school. 

In  the  rider,  note  the  length  of  rein  throughout,  the 
pointed  knee,  the  perpendicular  stirrup  leather,  the 
forward  poise  of  the  body,  and  the  freedom  given  to 
the  horse. 

My  only  criticism  is  that  in  fig.  6  the  foot  is  a  little 
too  far  advanced,  and  that  not  quite  sufficient  freedom 
has  been  given  to  the  horse's  loins  on  landing. 

In  the  horse,  note  its  temperateness,  and  trueness 
of  its  action.  It  is  cantering,  and  jumping  off  the 
off  fore,  and  landing  on  the  same  leg.  In  spite  of 
the  collected  way  it  is  jumping,  note  that  it  lands 
well  on  the  far  side,  quite  far  enough  to  clear  any 
ditch  that  might  be  there. 

Note. — The  position  of  the  rider's  leg  in  photograph 
No.  6  should  be  noted.  It  will  here  be  seen  that  the 
stirrup  leather  is  not  perpendicular,  and  that  the  foot 
has  been  pushed  a  little  forward.  This  is  the  French 
school,  and  is  what  they  call  the  ''  jambe."  In  this 
position  the  foot  is  fixed.  For  the  moment  it  is 
immovable,  and  remains  so  fixed  as  long  as  the  seat 
continues  in  that  portion  of  the  saddle.  Much  as 
I  admire  the  thoroughness  of  the  French  schools,  I 
venture  in  this  particular  to  disagree  with  them.  I 
consider  that  the  leather  should  remain  upright,  the 
foot  should  be  further  back,  and  the  knee  more  pointed 
so  as  to  better  absorb  the  jar  of  impact. 


Printed    in    Grbat    Britain    by 

Richard   Clay  &  Sons,    Limiied, 

bbunswick  st.,  stamford  st.,  s  e.  1, 

and  bungay.  suffolk.. 


^^^tebster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Median© 

Cummings  School  of  Vp^ermary  Medicine  at 

Tufts  U.    ri-l)/ 

200  Wet,  ;^^.o  Road 

North  Grafton.  MA  01636 


